Sonic and Donna
by Donna Fairview
Summary: Sonic 1 Adaptation, feat. the scrapped character Madonna. When Dr. Robotnik takes over South Island, Sonic and his best friend Donna Fairview rise to the ever-demanding occupation of heroes, cursing and tumbling and laughing all the way.
1. Prologue

**Early in production of Sonic 1, there were many things suggested but ultimately cut out. One is the character of Madonna, who would have been Sonic's "girlfriend", fangirl, and all-around damsel in distress. But in an effort to make the game more kid-friendly, she was cut and eventually faded away into obscurity...**

**Which makes her a gold-mine of untapped potental for a story ;) So without further adieu, here is the first chapter in what I believe to be what would've happened if Madonna, instead of getting the golden ax to her neck, was made a little more battle-orientated.**

**Copyright SEGA**

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When the sun rose over South Island one lazy summer morning, Donna Fairview thought little of it. After all, the blonde-haired teenager had her thoughts on more important things: finding her uniform out of the mess in her room, taking out the trash, and keeping her best friend out of trouble.

The thought of the hyperactive eleven year old made the girl grin, shaking out her tangled locks as she got up to greet the day. To some people Sonic the Hedgehog was more trouble than he was worth, but Donna knew better. He was an acquired taste for sure, but she knew all the little nooks and crannies in his speed-driven personality, and she was proud to call him her best friend. Fishing out her work attire, a strapless red dress and heels, she stumbled into the shower, cursed at banging her knee, and returned twenty minutes later to find Sonic lounging on her bed as if he owned the thing. "What did I say about personal space, blue boy?"

"Something about respecting it, but I wasn't paying too much attention. After a while all your lecturing is a real grate on the ears, Donna." He grinned, wiping his nose as the thirteen year old blonde simply rolled her eyes and cuffed him on the side of the head. Rolling back up from the hit, he yawned, then wolf whistled teasingly. "Not that I mind seeing you at work-that dress is _very_ flattering, my dear-but can we skip the whole 'I gotta show up super early for my shift to get some extra dough' act and go running?"

Oh yes, running, Sonic _loved_ running, especially when he literally ran circles around his less-gifted human friend. "Maybe, maybe not; does your mom know you're actually up before 9 am? And if she does, does your dad know CPR?" Sonic sardonically laughed before throwing a cat-shaped pillow at her head, which she ducked with the grace learned after thousands of previous attempts. As soon as she combed out her elbow-length hair, slipped in a red Alice band, and took a swipe of her bubble gum lip balm (the closest thing her mother would allow for cosmetics), she smiled at the cerulean colored boy. "Are you coming?"

"Hell yes!" He sped out of the room, upsetting the piles of clothes strewn about, but managed to slow down enough to bid good-morning to a startled Mr. and Mrs. Roy Fairview. "Hello Mr. Roy, Mama Hope. Fine weather we have today." Grinning cheekily at the blonde woman's somewhat shaky wave, he flew out the door and zigzagged around the humble, frayed front yard of the Fairview's. "Taking too long, Donna!"

"Bye mom, see you after my shift!" Hugging her mother and blowing a kiss to her disgruntled father, Donna ran out the door to tackle her friend to the ground, pinning him with extreme ease; while he may be the speed demon, she was built for strength. "You were saying, blue boy?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Giggling, she helped him up, then broke into an easy jog before going faster, willing her much-abused legs to keep up with the murderous pace that her friend nonchalantly put up. Granted, they were going at a pace which most people would be shocked at, but after five years dealing with a certain green-eyed monster (and not just Sonic), Donna had gained some note-worthy leg muscles.

However, all the human muscles in the world couldn't keep up with hedgehog muscles, and soon he was running backwards in front of her, inhaling the sweet fragrance that was the local park's cherry orchards, the ocean breeze just a ten-minute walk away, and pure summer air. "Weather like this is just _begging_ for a good run; let's loop the town before work, Donna." Seeing how she was about to throw a fit, the boy slowed down to become uncomfortably close to her front, giving off his trademark grin. "But the question is whether or not _you_ can handle it, Donna."

"O...oh y-yeah?" She mentally picked the annoying preteen in his bright blue bum. Damn him for knowing her soft spots! "R-race you a...around...twice!" He laughed before she ran at her top speed, ignoring the painful shifting of her feet against her heels, and instead focusing on breathing and showing him what she was made of. And as the pale blue sky grew a little darker in its lovely blue, she looped around the houses on the far side of town, doubled back to the beach, and did it all over again, all the whie Sonic cracking jokes about her budding bust-size and her annoying red dress. "C-Call me a c-call girl one..more time, and I'm g...gonna kick your butt into last week!" She swiped at his head and sent him tumbling, upsetting her own balance. They landed in a painful heap outside her workplace, her shift just about to start and lagging bystanders laughing at them.

But it was nothing out of the usual, Sonic thought as he helped his wincing friend to her feet. After all, those slowpokes in their sandals couldn't appreciate his need for speed like Donna could. Hence why she was his best friend.

As to be expected on a Sunday morning, Archie's Diner was at medium capacity, mainly with the elderly citizens of the small town bordering the ocean and groupings of small families. Inhaling the sweet aroma of pancake syrup Donna stretched out her legs, cursing all feminine footwear in general. "Sonic, you know I hate running in heels..."

"Must've slipped my mind. Need any extra help?" The question was directed at Donna's soft-hearted boss, a middle-aged dog aptly named Archie. He nodded in consent before returning to his office, and the hedgehog grinned at his companion, "I guess you're my supervisor today, Donna; got anything to do besides sitting on my butt all day?"

Groaning slightly, she whacked him upside the head, then dragged him by the collar into the kitchen, and slapped a towel in his hands. 'You're on busboy duty today. Put those magic legs of yours to good use and keep your mouth shut." Pausing in her rather maternal demands, she grinned, "Keep out of trouble and after our shift's done we'll go exploring one of the Zones."

Just as Donna hoped his face broke into a very happy grin that infected herself and got her giggling. The Zones around their town were mostly uninhabited, saved for only the hardiest of explorers; needless to say Sonic had been simply _dying_ for someone to take him through a few. "Can we go all the way to Spring Yard Zone? I heard the people who live there use bumpers as elevators!"

"Sure, sure; as long as I tire you out so you actually go to bed before midnight. Now, off to work."

"Yes ma'am!" With a gust of wind he was off bussing tables and probably keeping their customers laughing with his suave charm (and the word suave is used loosely here). Donna smiled then went to her station and picked up her notepad, gliding over to a table of four without the awkward movements that a growing thirteen year old's body came with. She simply hoped that her dress wasn't wrinkling around her bust; strapless dresses tended to do that to her. "Hello, I'm Donna. May I take your order?"

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Donna smirked as Sonic shifted his weight between feet, understanding the dilemma. Sundays in a small town weren't exactly the busiest that they could be, and with fifteen minutes before the end of their shifts both of them were admittedly anxious to get out. Flicking a dried piece of grease off a kitchen counter, she completed another round, noting how the aromas of pancakes and waffles were melting into french fries and hamburgers. Maybe she'd take home lunch; all she had at home were frozen dinners, which were good only for lazy days. And seeing how she was apparently running off into the wild this afternoon, she needed some more calories. "Settle down blue boy, the world ain't gonna end just yet."

"Ugh, that's the problem. The only kicks I get in this place are running laps around a certain bombshell's butt every morning." Dodging the indignant kick to his bum he leaned against the wall, emerald eyes closing with a sigh. "I just want out. Maybe I'll go to the other islands, or the mainland...you'll come with me, right?"

Donna understood the actual hurt behind his statement. As much as Sonic loved his life here on little South Island-and she was pretty darn sure he loved it a lot-it simply wasn't enough. Sonic was made for bigger and better things, it was in his very blood...and she would be right there with him. Donna smiled, then ruffled his quills, smiling sweetly, "Of course. After all, somebody's gotta keep you out of trouble, and I don't think your mom will appreciate running around to who knows where with your brother in her belly. Speaking of which, did they think of a name yet?"

He nodded, listening to a muted argument between an irate cook and an even more irate waiter in the back of the steamy kitchen. "Yeah, Mom wants to name the baby Jules, after my dad. But he's thinking more along the lines of something cool, like my name." He made a face. "I agree; Jules is old-sounding."

"Like Donna?" She laughed as he back tracked, then was in the process of teasing him even more (his mother's name took the cake; who could beat Bernadette?) before abruptly stopping. "Sonic...did you feel that?"

"...yeah." They slowly stood up and heard forks clanging about in the sink, watching the door shudder. Running out into the seating area they along with the rest of the customers watched the sky with awe. A large machine, something which Sonic vaguely remembered was called an airship, was descending from the heavens. A large, rather ugly egg-shaped face was grinning on it's side, and without further warning the bottom opened up. A horde of robots descended onto the street, and the windows exploded with a crash as they opened fire. "Donna!"

"Come on, this way!" She honestly had _no_ idea what in the world was going on, but she knew one thing: robots who were currently attacking bystanders and putting them in handcuffs were bad. Very, very bad indeed. Running through the kitchen the two ran out the back into more chaos, unable to stop the robots from taking down every last living thing. Humans, Mobians, and even little animals alike were being tackled and pinned as the metal horde went onwards mercilessly. "L...let's go to the forest! Use those legs, boy!"

"Yes ma'am!" He took the lead and ran for his life, dragging Donna by the hand as they sprinted towards the tree line. The world around her became a blur as he weaved between trees and robots, noting with relief that the latter were decreasing in number. She willed herself to match his speed and barely managed to do so, marveling at how fast her legs seemed to go. Sonic, after jumping over a tree root and catching Donna as she stumbled, was surprised too. "I thought you said you hated running in heels?"

"Desperate times call for some desperate measures! Where are you going?"

"I dunno, Green Hill Zone?" He picked up the pace, and Donna focused on looking through the blur at her surroundings. Robots were less frequent, but they were in the process of rounding up animals and taking them back to that metal monster in the skies above Archie's Diner. She shuddered at the thought of her parents being taken hostage, but was brought back to earth when Sonic stopped abruptly. Donna found herself tumbling head over heel into the ground, groaning as her legs throbbed painfully. "Oh crud, Donna, are you ok?"

"Yeah...as soon as I get some real shoes." Easing out of her battered heels, she and Sonic marveled at their surroundings. It was one thing to read about somewhere, even see pictures, but as soon as their eyes met with rushing waterfalls, brown-chekered earth and palm trees, they fell in love with Green Hill Zone. "Woah..."

"You said it, ma'am." The tranquility of the Zone was abruptly cut off with a loud squealing noise, the kind that microphones emitted when too close to a karaoke machine. Crying out in surprise the more sensitive Sonic clamped his gloves hands over his years, wincing as the squealing died away. 'What the hell...?"

**"GREETINGS, CITIZENS OF SOUTH ISLAND!"** A large booming voice echoed throughout the valleys and hills, making it seem omnipresent. **"AS OF NOW EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU FROM STAR LIGHT ZONE TO THE BEACH TOWNS ARE ALL UNDER MY ROBOT'S CONTROL, SO LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF-"**

"What? No way!" Sonic and Donna exclaimed at the same time, eyes wide with horror at the statement.

**"-THE GENIUS DOCTOR IVO ROBOTNIK, SOON TO BE THE LEADER OF THE EGGMAN EMPIRE! AND THIS LITTLE GEM IS THE FIRST OFFICIAL STATE IN MY NEW REALM!-"**

"To hell with that!" Donna didn't bother trying to act offended by Sonic's swear, because she was screaming it too (on the inside, of course). "I'm not gonna let you take over!"

"What do you mean, blue boy? This guy just totally took over our city; how can we possibly do anything?" She twisted her hair with fear, bangs falling into her pale face. "I don't think even the army can take down this guy!"

**"-ROBOTS ARE NOW PATROLLING EVERY ZONE, SO IF ANY OF YOU TRY AND THINK ABOUT ESCAPING, THERE'S NO HOPE FOR IT! BWAHAHAHAHA!"**

The voice of Dr. Robotnik echoed away, leaving Sonic in a fury and Donna in a state of worry. The younger of the two grinned devilishly at his best friend, then replied to her earlier outburst, "You know that I can't just sit around and do nothing, Donna! This...this is the stuff of legends, the stuff that'll get me out of here and into something way past cool. I've been waiting for this my whole life..." His voice cracked at the end; cruel and selfish as it may sound, the madman in the sky was giving him an opportunity he simply couldn't refuse. "Besides...we just gotta do something. Our families and friends are counting on us, everyone on the whole island is, so I'm gonna do all I can to help them." Sonic set off towards the heart of Green Hill, then casually added over his shoulder, "Now I'm down with speeding through this, but something tells me I'm gonna need a juggernaut with the power of...dare I say...a _bombshell_ at my side."

"I dunno..."

"Please." Within that word all the bravado in his posture melted away into a quiet kind of confidence. And he was asking with those big, bright emerald eyes that Donna turned to goo under, and the expression on his face only made it worse. "I need your help."

"...alright." She slipped back on her heels, smirking roguishly, "_Somebody's_ gotta keep your blue butt outta trouble. To Green Hill and beyond, Sonic."

Sonic smiled brightly, then abruptly pulled her into a damsel-carry, and sped off into the grassy plains and palm trees with Donna whooping out into the blurring wind. Oh sure, this Dr. Robotnik guy (if the face on the airship was his _face_, then in Sonic's opinion he was more of an _Eggman_) had robots and the control of the island on his side. He would give the madman that.

But Sonic had his best friend Donna on his side, fists of fury and high heels and all, and that was pretty much all he needed.

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**Reviews aren't mandatory, but I'd love to hear how you guys think of this :)**


	2. Green Hill Zone

**I only own Donna Fairview in this story, which is made solely for non-profit entertainment.**

**I realize that this is much shorter than the opening chapter, but I'd rather fill in as much action as possible for your enjoyment :)**

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Donna crossed her arms and bit her lip as Sonic flexed his legs. True to her word the girl had followed her best friend into the main part of Green Hill Zone, and was watching strange little robots crawl around the checkered earth like metallic bugs. Floating above her head were three strange, golden rings which span all by themselves; Sonic thought they were cool. "What the heck are these things?"

"Dunno, but according to that sign over yonder," He mentioned behind them, where a cheerful sign spelt out 'Welcome to Green Hill Zone!', "we're in Act 1 of this place. And we're not getting any closer to Dr. Robuttnik if we just stand here. Let's go!"

Laughing at his variation of Dr. Robotnik's name (although she agreed with Sonic that Eggman was a better suited name), Donna followed her friend into the fray. He paused, then experimentally jumped like he was on a trampoline, spinning into a ball and absorbing the rings as his companion watched in awe. He uncurled down on the ground, and grinned, yelling back at Donna while running forwards, "Come on Donna, the rings don't bite! In fact...they take the edge off of running!"

Trusting her friend's judgement, she sprang forward and jumped as high as she could onto an earthen platform, accidentally breaking open a monitor conspicuously lying in the grass. In an instant she felt 10 or so rings melt into her skin, and true to Sonic's words, felt the pain in her feet ease away just a bit. "Kick ass!" Laughing, she ran to catch up with Sonic, jumping into a palm tree...and landing on top of a robot, cracking it open and releasing a little white bird. "Oh my...Sonic! There's _animals_ in these things!" She landed on a spring and screamed as she flew into the air, catching more rings but landing on her bum.

"No way!" He helped her up and jogged along side her, proving Donna right when he destroyed robots jumping out at them from below a bridge; two little creatures fell out and Sonic wasn't too happy. "Eggman's a total freak! We definitely gotta stop him!" They ran up a slope with surprising ease, sucking in more rings and landing on a jugged platform...only to have all their rings explode out of them as a crab robot clawed into them. To their surprise neither of them were hurt, a few of the rings soaking back into their skin. "Huh...these things keep you safe for one hit. Great!" Curling into a ball with every jump, Sonic climbed the slope, liberating two more animals from metallic clutches.

Donna, making sure that the little fuzzy creatures got along safely, refused to be out shown by her more battle-friendly friend. Tensing her muscles, she charged forward and threw her fist into a jumping piranha robot, crushing it with ease and a little popping noise. Running faster to catch up, she destroyed three more bee-like minions, grinning with an inflated ego. "Oh yeah, take t-THAT!"

Too busy gloating over her newly-found strength, Donna fell off a cliff into a pathway below, which was dotted with little patches of spikes. "I've got a feeling I shouldn't touch those..." Carefully jumping over them she reached a row of ring monitors, happily taking her gold...and a monitor covered in stars. As soon as she destroyed it Donna was covered in a supernatural start storm of sparkles, and filled with a strange sense of invincibility, ran forward, and destroyed a robot immediately on contact. "I dunno what this is...but I like it!"

Jumping up back onto the main road, she continued on her merry path of destruction, liberating more animals and taking in more rings. A large loop curved out of the ground, and simply because she felt like she could, the blonde ran forward at her highest speed, and felt gravity inverse as she ran upside down. "Wow Donna, I didn't know you could do that!"

Exiting the loop Donna looked up to see Sonic standing on top of it, grinning so widely she could see it through the strange blue sphere wrapped around him. "I see you found the sparkly monitor; aren't these things nifty? The one I just found gave me this cool shield thingy...come on up here, I see another way out of this place." He leaned off the rock face and she jumped up into his hands, barely making it but making it all the same. Her invincible state of being wore off and she was just plain Donna again, but as she followed Sonic past a levitating path (Zones were weird compared to her hometown) and into a pathway filled with rings and robots, she proved just how awesome she really was. "Geez Donna, remind me never to piss you off...oh sweet, a tunnel!"

The second Sonic entered the tunnel he curled into a ball and shot out into the air, Donna (who was sliding on her bum and messing up her dress), following behind him with a scream. They managed to snag a large group of rings (Donna felt as if she were filled with at least a hundred by now) before Sonic crushed a robot and propelled himself to a bridge teeming with pirahnas, his blonde sidekick throwing her shoes at them. Apparently her polyester red heels were stronger than steel, because the robots broke apart with little poofs, Donna grinning as she slipped them back on, "I think I'm starting to like these things."

Down a slope they went, absolutely drenched in the warm energy rings gave out, and they saw the end of the Act ahead: a sign with a fat bald man with a gigantic red mustache grinning at them. Glaring at the offensive image, Sonic sped past it, spinning it so hard that the image of Sonic and Donna replaced the foul mug of Dr. Robotnik. But before Donna could comment on the lack of logic, she and Sonic were distracted by the large ring floating in space. "Woah...it's huge!"

"Dibs!" Laughing, Sonic jumped into it, Donna a second behind...and with a flash of light they span into the heavens, and reappeared in a nightmare.

Donna screamed as she tumbled in a ball much like Sonic's, dimly aware of a ironic lullaby resounding through a maze of blocks and bumpers while fish and birds floated in a blue void. Sonic too was screaming without shame, blindly barreling down further into the maze, guided by strands of rings. Deciding that the way out was somewhere in the twisting, twirling hell hole, Donna slid down a wall made of candy-colored blocks, still screaming as she made painful contact with a bumper. The momentum of the hit pushed her into Sonic and themselves past translucent white and red spheres, which turned solid as soon as they reached a large, spinning room. Realising that they were trapped, Sonic blindly jumped into a cube of diamonds, and to his shock they began to disintegrate. "DONNA! THERE'S A WAY OUT!"

However, the rotating room threw him back into a wall, Donna sliding down into a sphere with a large R on it. The maze twisted back the opposite way, and the duo quickly picked up a blindly frantic pattern: while Sonic would try and destroy the cube of diamonds, Donna would man the R-sphere (probably R for Reverse, but she was too busy screaming to make the connection) and keep Sonic from falling into flashing black and red orbs. What they were she didn't know, but she didn't trust them one bit. With a final scream Sonic broke through into the cube's center, and grabbed a floating blue, emerald-like gem in his fists. With a triumphant trill of sound the room span uncontrollably into white nothingness, the two juveniles sucked into oblivion once more.

They landed roughly outside of Green Hill Zone Act 2, both panting harshly, keeping their sobs of terror at bay, and trying to process what just happened. "S...Sonic...what the...hell?"

Grimacing at the pain in his hip (a rock squished into the mossy ground under him was to blame), he pulled out the strange gem, which was emitting a strange, foreign power, and instantly felt all the pains and exhaustion in his body fizzle away into renewed energy. He handed it to Donna quickly, and her blue eyes widened as she felt the sensation as well. "I dunno what this is Donna, but it must be powerful or something; you can pretty much feel the energy coming off of it. And whatever that place was," They both shivered at the thought, "we can't let Dr. Robotnik find these. What if he knows? What if there's more...?"

"Must be pretty special to cause all that chaos back in that place." Standing up and stretching, Donna helped Sonic to his feet. "But whatever that Special Zone was-don't laugh at me, blue boy, that's what we're calling it-we're on a mission: save the animals, beat the Eggman...and if there's more emeralds like these, we gotta get them too."

Sonic threw his fist into the air, and charged off into Act 2, keeping the emerald safe in his quills (the best part about being a hedgehog were those nifty hiding places in between their spines) and letting Donna crack her fists into two more jumping robots. Ladies first, after all. Jumping up on a spring to catch more rings, he noticed that the overflowing warmth from the previous Act was gone; he decided that Rings must be relative to whichever Act they came from, so they had to go ring hunting again. Or the Special Zone pounded all the life out of them. Either way, he felt himself grin as he picked up a few more after crushing a crab robot's head in. "Keeping up the pace, I see; beauty and brawn _do_ come in the same package."

Donna simply stuck out her tongue, willing herself to push her legs into going faster. She was the one to grab a shield as they waited for a strange swing to carry them over a spike pit, poking the sphere quizzically. "It's kinda like rubber. How weird." The sphere ended up saving her the rings, for as soon as they leaped from the platform back into the fray, a surprise attack from a piranha robot broke her sphere yet failed in hitting the blonde bombshell. Growling, she watched with satisfaction as Sonic broke it apart, for once accepting his protective-slash-annoying little brother complex. While Sonic sped through a loop, whooping loudly at the adrenaline rush, Donna propelled herself onto the top of the loop, picking up more rings and destroying a rather odd monitor; inside of it was a first aid kit. Storing it away for later, she snorted as she jumped down to catch up; Dr. Robotnik was a flaming _idiot_ for leaving the monitors around. Like robots needed _first aid_! Sonic managed to find an invincibility monitor in a tree, then blasted forward without abandon, Donna calling out to his gathering dust, "Go get them, blue boy!"

And get him did he; after conversing tricky platforms rising out of spike pits he charged through robots, chasing down those who had the gall to run away and freed little woodland babies from their cages., Ascending upwards to get a ring monitor, he met back up with Donna and the two of them continued onwards. They crossed a bridge to scamper across crumbling ledges, and were about to end the Act, but a rouge robot swooped down and nailed Sonic in the back of the head, sending him spiralling and Donna in a hissy fit that resulted in more carnage. As they grumbled past the sign post bearing Dr. Robotnik's mug, they noticed the large ring that they had sworn they'd seen before was gone. "Maybe...maybe you need more rings to get into the Special Zone? We had 50 or so, and now we have, like, 10."

Sonic crossed his arms and pouted, before relaxing and whistling lowly. "So we need 50 rings for every Act, eh? Not too bad, as long as we don't get kamikazed by any robots or anything." They laughed, then walked to the next Act, quietly marveling at the scenery. In the heat of battle the two had forgotten what exactly they were saving: a Zone that seemed to go on for miles, air heavily scented with flowers and mist from the many waterfalls. The sun was high in the sky, making it a solid azure, sunbeams warming their skin as they lost the glow of the rings but still had the oddly chaotic power of the emerald. "This place is freaking amazing; like hell I'm gonna let that egghead ruin it!"

"That's the spirit!" They entered Act 3 and Donna immediately jumped onto a spring, flying upwards to ascend crumping ledges to the summit of the foothill. She watched Sonic speed past her, covered in sparkles, and she quickly broke open a shield monitor before following her best friend through the brown checkered cliffs, gaining rings and taking robot names to the extreme. Falling with a little squeak of surprise, Donna landed hard on her bum while Sonic paced the pathway below her, before apparently having an epiphany when he touched the earthen wall. He backed up, then curled into a ball at high speed, breaking through the wall and making a pathway just large enough for Donna to crouch through. "Thanks!"

"Don't mention it. Just to everyone you know, of course!" As soon as the blue-eyed blonde caught up she whacked Sonic upside his cerulean head, catching the teasing look in his green eyes. "Geez, you _do_ hit hard." With that he continued forward, spinning down a twisting tunnel and plowing into a lone crab robot. Chasing after fleeing dragonfly-like robots, he narrowly missed running straight into spikes jutting out from the wall in front of him, Donna scolding the boy when she caught up. "Sorry, didn't see..."

"Pay attention, blue boy, cuz I think it just gets worse here on out." After trial and error (springs coming out horizontally kept sending them backwards. They lost a lot of rings being propelled bum-first into spike traps) they managed to escape the lower level, reappearing in front of a strange blue goal post. Donna punched it experimentally, and it twisted around quickly, hitting her lower back and sending the waitress across a twisting bridge onto the mossy brown earth. "Ouch?"

"That was awesome!" Sonic couldn't get the now glowing red goal post to do the same, so he made short work of the bridge and helped her to her feet, retrieving a shoe that had been blown away. "For you, milady."

"Thanks, Sonic." Smiling, she let him continue forwards, looking out for any robots that would take advantage of their low ring levels. They passed behind a waterfall, the cool mist cleansing their rosy faces of sweat, then after gaining a few rings jumped, span, and kicked their way to the end of the Act. "I guess Marble Zone's after this...one..."

They came to a dead halt between two floating platforms, watching a hovercraft descend from the sky. In it was the man from the sign, the captain of the airship which took over their home...it was Dr. Robotnik, and he was laughing at them. "Ho ho ho, what is THIS? A little girl with her little hedgehog friend? I wonder how you escaped the holding facilities...no matter. You're finished!"

"You're going down, Eggman!" Sonic threw his fist in the air with a heated cry, but was pulled onto a platform by Donna as the hovercraft came down lower. Gaining an idea, he smashed his curled, nearly indestructible form into the underbelly of the machine, Donna throwing in kicks and punches much to Dr. Robotnik's outrage. Floating to the other side, he lowered a large checkered ball from a chain in the underbelly, and swung it at the two. Noting how slow it was swinging, Sonic jumped onto the other platform, Donna manning the first, and they took turns jumping onto the hovercraft's glass shield and sides, finally breaking through and causing it to be engulfed in many explosions. "Take that!"

A very singed and very livid Dr. Robotnik then flew off into the skies, Donna reaching a strange contraption with a button on top. Pressing it, the contraption broke apart, and dozens of little birds, rabbits, and other fluffy animals ran for the hills, rubbing affectionately against Donna and Sonic. Far ahead the hedgehog could see the beginnings of Marble Zone, and after randomly hugging Donna around the waist, charged off, ready to liberate another Zone all over again.

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**And there's the first Zone in the story; only six more to go! And I realize that I took many liberties in the fuctions of rings, the Chaos Emerald, and the monitors, especially the 1-up monitors, but at least my explanation makes a little bit more sense than randomly collecting objects XD**


	3. Marble Zone

**I only own Donna Fairview in this story, which is made solely for non-profit entertainment.**

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The sky became darker and filled with alto-cumulus clouds (how Donna remembered _that_ piece of information from her three years at the one-room school she'll never know) when the two entered Marble Zone. Ruins stretched out across the grass like the skeleton of a fallen city, yet there was something in the stuffy air...it was simply _off_ to them. "Well, here's good old Act 1 for ya; I wonder why this place smells like an old gym sock though..."

"Yecch; it's worse than the time you ran around all day in those ratty old shoes you had for a few years." Donna giggled then winced as Sonic punched her in the upper arm, holding her hands up. "But I like the new shoes better...the white stripe is a nice touch, especially with the buckle." They spent a minute admiring the shoes Sonic received for his eleventh birthday, before getting down to business. Passing by a large, tomb-like ruin, they grabbed a couple of rings and noted how the rather bumpy ground was hot to the touch. And as Donna leaped over a rising platform, she knew why. "What the-this place is over a pool of _lava_?"

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better!" Sonic landed on a narrow platform, taking out one of those annoying bee-robots on the way, and had to throw the little white rabbit that came out to safety. "The little guy almost fell into the lava." He laughed nervously at Donna's raised eye brow, then journeyed up a staggered slope, noticing how there was lavender blocks under the sulfur-laden grass. He took down another flying robot and landed in a spin on the tail side of another...only to lose his rings in the process as the thing promptly exploded. "What?"

"Damn caterpillars-or in this case, cata_killers_." Donna laughed at Sonic's deadpan face, picking up more rings, and narrowly dodging a flaming fire ball which launched itself out of a lava pit. "What next, lava sharks?" Quickly running down a slope with her best friend in the lead, the blonde took a random glance behind her, and found a cavern exposed by the rising and sinking platform she was on. Curious, she stepped inside, and reemerged with 30 extra rings. "Not exactly lava sharks, but I think I'll live."

Sonic, on the other hand, wasn't having as much fun. Leaping over a lava pit, he landed on a platform, and to his horror the grass burst into flame. Narrowly avoiding certain doom (or at least a very burnt bum), he jumped onto three more in succession, each quickly turning into smoldering ruins. To his credit, he _did_ remember that Donna had yet to arrive, but only after he screwed up her method of transportation. "Ooops..."

"Sonic!" She growled, then yelped as she frantically made her way through the flames, losing her rings and her dress catching on fire. She, not used to being engulfed in flames, screamed and fell face first down the slope leading into an underground tunnel, landing at Sonic's feet and screaming at him, "THE FIRST-AID KIT!" He nodded frantically and pulled it out, using the fire extinguisher inside (how that managed to fit in the little white box he would never know) to save his friend from dying only two Zones into their adventure. Panting heavily, Donna brushed the soot and foam from her still decent dress, looking up to glare at a certain, somewhat sheepish blue hedgehog. "I'm _so_ getting you for that..."

"Let's talk revenge plans later, _after_ we get out of here." Not wanting to antagonise her further, Sonic led the way down under the earth, instantly choked by the hundred degree temperature. "Huh...that explains the moving platforms." He nodded with approval at the pistons rising and sinking with oiled grace, moving carefully in order to avoid being squashed. Donna stayed close to the boy this time; she didn't care to lose her only choice of clothing so early into their adventure. Sonic squeaked as he barely managed to avoid not only a bat robot flying out of nowhere, but a sudden spike trap; Donna stuck her tongue out at him as she jumped over him onto a chandelier. "Donna, what do I do with this button?"

"I think you gotta push this block over...on...it!" As she was explaining her plan Donna was pushing against a large square block, cursing her aching feet while putting her muscles to work. The block fell onto the button and the chandelier was released, rising slowly and revealing spikes where delicate glass lights should be. "Umm, I think we'd best be leaving, blue boy."

"Yes ma'am!" He jumped down below the pathway into lavender stone steps, bypassed the errant spike trap popping out of nowhere, and vaulted over the piston, Donna shadowing his blurred outline on the heat-heavy floor. The stench of sulfur was overwhelming as they jumped onto falling lavender blocks, steam sizzling as the marble made contact. The hedgehog and human scaled more steps and met a wall, Sonic looking upwards to see and hear a clanking chandelier shift in position. "Well _that's_ kinda scary!"

The metal and spike contraption shuddered into a fall, steady enough for Sonic and his best friend to use it as a stepping stone onto a platform. The platform slid into the wall as another chandelier began to fall, bat robots fluttering about; with the added heat from the lava Sonic was assured Marble Zone was one step away from hell. He made his pleasure known as they left the underground cavern into slightly fresher air, throwing his fist up. "Yay, we're out!"

"But we're still in the Zone, blue boy, so keep your head in the game!" Donna grabbed onto Sonic's wrist as she pulled him into her jump, only releasing when he turned into his nearly indestructible spin. Gaining more rings (she was sure they were 5or so by now, the bare minimum for the Special Zone), she took out a catakiller and Sonic took down a bee robot, and they reached a large circle of magnificent ruins while they passed Act 1. They span the sign around at nearly the speed of sound, and with a shudder, they leaped into the large golden ring floating in the heavy, filthy air.

Sure, they _were_ expecting the sensation of a meat hook lodged under their sternums ripping them into oblivion, but they still screamed nonetheless.

This time the layout of the Special Zone had changed; a slightly more calm but still yelling Sonic literally was stuck trying to change the angle of the rotating maze so he could get out of where he started. Finally Donna knocked him into a different area, where they picked up many rings but were at an absolute loss at what to do. Acting on a hunch Sonic threw himself to the right, seeing images of birds and fish flash before his wildly spinning eyes as he precariously balanced on a row of bumpers. Donna screamed as she nearly fell into the flashing red orbs from before, close enough to see the words 'GOAL' stamped into them. Seeing how there was no emerald near the orbs she still didn't trust a word or flash they said. "WHERE'S THE EMERALD?"

"HAVEN'T A CLUE!" Angrily richocheting against a star bumper without end, Sonic finally bounced himself and Donna into the emerald chamber, locked inside with a dizzying array of walls, bumbpers, and the cube of diamonds ready to dissolve. He swore as he saw extra layers of diamonds, but with Donna spinning against a reverse orb he managed to get in between a bumper and the diamonds. Blue to green to yellow to purple, the diamonds disappeared in time with the stilted lullaby playing somewhere behind the chaos of the emerald chamber. With a final pelvic thrust Sonic launched himself into the cube's core, and with a yellow emerald tightly clenched in his fist the Special Zone span away into white oblivion.

"We...ugh, we would be _paid_ for this nonsense..." Donna panted heavily, sucking in four air but relishing it; in the Special Zone there was no scent, no noise outside the lullaby and her own screams, just the disorientating sights of things left best in one's imagination. "So we have...two. Two for how much?"

"Dunno; guess we gotta find out. To Act 2 and beyond!" Sonic picked himself up and pulled Donna to her feet, before they ran onto a platform floating on lava, marble pillars crumbling around them. Instantly robots were out for their blood, and the duo had to be careful and not destroy them over pits of lava. "Man, these things are just plain bad, just like Dr. Robotnik...heh heh, they're _badniks_."

Donna laughed at the rather fitting name, then destroyed another 'badnik' and threw a white bunny into a ruin. "Let's get out of here." They most unwillingly returned to an underground tunnel, picking up a few rings before meeting a dead end. While Sonic tried to smash through the heated wall with no success, Donna noticed a button on the ground. "What does this button do?" When Donna stepped on it Sonic screamed, and for good reason: he had been standing on a piston, and the button sent it smashing down below. "Oops! Sorry, Sonic! I guess we're even now..."

"Ugh; didn't I tell you to wait?" Not at all irritated with his best friend, Sonic followed the bombshell down the cavern, took out a bat badnik, and stared dumbly at a large, square marble block blocking their way. "Umm...if I push this into the lava, will it magically transport us to the other side?" His mother would be proud at his sudden increase of brain power (and that in itself was rather depressing). With absolute horror they watched a little white chicken merrily hop its way across the lava, Sonic crossing his arms and pouting. "Now _that's_ just plain unfair."

"Yeah...oh, we can't duck under this!" Donna was slightly flustered as they scrambled onto a lavender platform and waited for their ride to cross underneath. So engrossed with woodland creatures doing the impossible made her forget that Marble Zone was an unfriendly place to other, more logic-bound people. "HOLY CRAP!" When the girl had jumped onto the next platform she was nearly set aflame once more by a random waterfall of lava; since shield were like rings she was vulnerable again. "Ugh...hey, I see some monitors!"

And so Donna did; returning with 10 rings, a shield for Sonic, and three little rabbits hopping into what should be certain doom they hopped across more platforms and landed on top of a rugged slope of stairs. Unaffected by the fireballs shooting out of the walls-by this time the two were used to arson attempts- they met a roadblock in the form of a stubborn platform stuck halfway out of the wall. This time it took both Sonic and Donna to push the annoying thing back where it came from, and they landed further still in the heart of the cavern. Forced to go right (lava was completely blocking the left, and only a flaming _idiot_ would try and push his luck _that_ much), the pair of juveniles made their way through a tightly cramped space, gaining rings to soothe the growing cramps in their hunched backs. "Does this place ever end, Donna?"

"It's gotta; we have to go to Spring Yard Zone after all." She smiled at his sudden burst of happiness, then reached a rather debilitating problem. "Ugh; I really need a rubber band right now; my freaking hair is _stuck_ on the spikes!"

"Ouch, that looks uncomfortable." Donna was bent at an odd angle backwards trying to free her hair. Taking pity on his friend, Sonic yanked her tangled golden locks out of the trap, petting it awkwardly. "If it makes you feel better I like it."

"Aww, thanks blue boy." She giggled and hugged him, before continuing onwards with their quest to defeat Dr. Robotnik. Ascending more lavender stairs they quickly broke apart the legion of bats hanging over head and jumped onto a platform on a chain, swinging low enough over the lava that they could smell the magma burning. Over and over they transversed swings like trapeze artists in a circus, finally reaching solid stone but growling angrily at the spring placed against the wall. "If we would've hit that we'd lose all our rings!"

"I bet Eggman put that there just to screw with us.." Shaking his head the speed loving hedgehog activated a piston with a button to get himself and Donna up another level, where a block stood waiting before a lava pit. "Not this again..I miss fresh air!"

"Me too..." With dual sighs they pushed into the burning lake, jumping over platforms to get rings. Sonic had an epiphany however, and while Donna jumped over another mass of lavender stones he simply ducked; the illusion that the platform caused the rider to fall off was quickly dispelled. "How'd you figure that out?"

"Elementary, my dear Donna: I had a hunch and rode with IT!" His voice screeched through three octaves as their block was propelled into the air by a geyser of lava, the two falling into relative safety high above the lava pit. "I think I just sh-"

"Language, blue boy; your mom would be kicking your blue butt by now!" She whacked him upside the head, took the apology with stride, and followed the hedgehog past an underground ruin, into a catakiller (Sonic span into the thing and Donna picked up the little bird inside), up a platform and into the outside world. Releasing the fuzzball, Donna inhaled the smoky air and sighed. "I like eau de syrup better than eww de sulfur."

Sonic rang out a hearty laugh, then put his strong muscles to use in the form of jumping up quickly whilst avoiding fire balls aiming for his bum. Donna, who hung back to pick up enough rings to guarantee a trip back into the Special Zone, quickly caught up, panting as she managed to destroy the robots clouding around her best friend like a swarm of angry bees. "Jeez...can I see an emerald?"

"Sure thing, Donna." Handing her the yellow emerald (that along with the fire illuminated her blonde hair rather prettily, in his opinion), the boy flew down a slope and onto a platform composed of surprisingly brittle blocks. Donna returning with more rings and renewed energy. Tapping his foot, he realized that the blocks were hollow as well; stretching his legs, Sonic jumped, circled into a ball, and proceeded to blast his way downwards. Donna jumped down the narrow tunnel produced, and decided to break open another pad of blocks with her heels; pale green granite couldn't defeat the power of cherry red polyester. Sonic gained a shield as Donna crushed a badnik with her fists, and they waited for geysers of lava to shoot themselves out before scrambling to the other side. Sonic happened to fall on an invincibility monitor, and picking up Donna damsel-style, Sonic ran across the lava, noting that it felt like cool jelly against his ankles. "Hell yes!"

The few badniks in their way didn't stand a chance, and they managed to acend two levels before turning back to normal. Letting Donna down Sonic waited for the irritatingly slow chandeliers to come down, Donna yawning blithely in the oppresive heat. "The constant heat wave is making me sleepy." Sonic snorted in agreement, before shuddering in disgust as beads of sweat slithered down his spines. Donna, wringing out her hair, wasn't fairing too much better. "We need a bath before we go to Spring Yard Zone..."

Sonic pretended not to hear her as he climbed onto the chandelier and left the underground hell for the final time in that Act. The less he thought about water the better; his last thoughts before jumping into the large ring was that once his parents understood that he'd been risking his tail to save them, they'd better stop the mandatory swimming lessons.

They fell into a large spinning rhombus with the cube of diamonds at the center, surrounded with a depressing amount of emeralds. Donna yelped as she slammed into multiple bumpers, Sonic only managing to partially dissolve a few of the diamonds before sliding off. Donna circled a strange white orb which made the room spin faster, the girl screaming as she flew to the side dangerously close to a row of 'GOAL' orbs. Sonic tried once more to attack the large cube of diamonds but fell into a reverse orb instead, and with a final scream Donna fell through. A flash of white engulfed where she once was, and the lullaby seemed to grow louder; Sonic for the first time in his adventure was alone. "DONNA!"

No answer; so distracted by his sudden loss Sonic crashed into many bumpers, and cursing the Special Zone was thrown out of the maze face first into white oblivion.

The two were unharmed, prides trod upon without mercy, and before Donna could apologize for dragging her friend down Sonic was hugging her tightly. "Oh jeez Donna, you scared me! I thought you were...well, I thought I was alone back there for a second or too."

She linked, then smield warmly, hugging back. "No worries blue boy; I'm sticking by your side until the end, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me." With one last squeeze she helped him up, and they felt a little relief at seeing the welcome sign to Act 3 of Marble Zone. "Two down, one to go...ugh..."

They did the same ritual as before: balance on the bumpy grass, take out the badniks, watch the little woodland animals flutter away...but at the sight of more fire and brimstone platforms they balked. Looking behind him Sonic saw a cavern, and as all curious eleven year olds were wont to do he went inside, closely followed by his teenaged (but just barely) companion. They quickly ran under a chandelier before it could fall on their heads, the granite beneath their feet crumbling away into lava as they bypassed a piston. Sonic plowed through a blockade of blocks and ran up to yet another awaiting block, Donna kicking it in with a powerful display of leg muscles. Doubling back for a ring monitor, they rode the slowly floating blocks, sweating furiously at the sweltering heat, and finally jumped onto a higher pathway. "You must be dying; there's no place for speed here!"

"Tell me about it." They avoided spikes ripping through the rocks and avoided the toothpick-like spears jutting out of the walls, going downwards once again to a chain swing. Trapezing their way to relative safety, they continued onwards, falling into rhythm: pick up rings, avoid fiery death, pick up rings, avoid fiery death...after crossing a lava pit rather oddly (they had two blocks to ride simultaneously), they stopped and waited for a chandelier to drop. Sonic groaned and leaned back against the wall, hanging his head. "I'm totally cracking that Eggman wide open for leading us here."

"Save some for me." they jumped up, Donna wincing as her heel slipped, ascending upwards only to have to cross a lava lake at the summit; at least the horde of bat badniks were new. By the time they had reached the top of their current pathway they were swimming in rings (enough to keep the edge out of their aching muscles, but not enough to keep them from overheating) and wanting OUT of Marble Zone. As soon as they reached fresh air Sonic fell into a Hail Mary, thanking whoever ran their crazy lives for saving him from lavender-toned monotony. "Sorry for interrupting, blue boy, but I think I see a certain hovercraft in the distance..."

"Now the fun is about to start!" With a grin and fist in the air Sonic sped along as fast as he could, glaring at the growing gray smear in the darkening sky while Donna huffed to catch up. Hovering over a lava pit between two platforms was Dr. Robotnik, and he didn't look too happy to see them. "Why the long face, Eggman?"

"So it's _you _again! Impressive, surviving the ruins, but I'll defeat you and your little friend right now!" But before he could put his ingenious plan into action Donna had scored a few hits to the underbelly, heels leaving deep gouges in the metal. "GAH! You've gone on for too long, little girl! I'll show you!" He set the opposite platform on fire before advancing on them, but Sonic was having _none_ of that; with a boost from Donna he began to bounce on top of the hovercraft, quickly reducing it to a steaming pile of junk. "NOOOO!"

"Hah! South Island 2, Dr. Robuttnik 0!" Sonic and Donna slapped hands as Dr. Robotnik flew away singed, finally able to leave Marble Zone behind them. It was nearing dusk by that point, and they felt the ground gradually become cooler as they neared the mountains harboring Spring Yard Zone. Yawning, Donna stretched out her arms, idly remarking to Sonic, "There's a river not too far from here; we'd better clean up before we continue."

"What? Oh, hell no, Donna! I'm fine!" But at this point Donna had tackled him, and they struggled in a sweaty, stinky pile before she got him in a headlock, the blonde idly replying as she dragged her friend to certain doom, "Don't worry, I'll be there to make sure you don't drown in five inches of water. Jeez, you're more calm around freaking lava..."

Sonic, beneath his struggles and whining, was smiling. Even though he was about to be mercilessly tortured (he preferred to run around at his highest speeds on windy days to air blast the dirt, smell, and grime off his body) with water, Donna was right there next to him. And he'd be willing to swim across the ocean to the mainland if just o have a friend in these darkening days.

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**And so ends Marble Zone, easily one of my non favorites in this game (that, Labyrinth, and Scrap Brain. I shudder at the memories...). So if the quality went down as I went along, I truly apologize; I imagine that Sonic and Donna were as tired and frustrated as I was by the boss XD**


	4. Spring Yard Zone

**Oh yucky, four weeks since I've last had inspiration for this story. Then again, two weeks of 9 hour band camp in the blistering sun and the first two week of AP class filled junior year might do that to some people. If not, then I certainly fail XD**

**By the way, I want to make a special shout-out to SoujaGurl, who did me the great honor of favoriting this story :)**

**I only own Donna Fairview in this story, which is made solely for non-profit entertainment.**

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It was much later in the day then they had originally planned earlier that morning, but Sonic and Donna finally made it to the mountain top city that made up Spring Hill Zone. Sonic was still pouting over his impromptu scrub down in the creek, but now they were much less grimy; thanks to Donna's impulsive need to have Purell wherever she went, they smelled like artificial flowers too. Kicking his foot against the red marble street, he couldn't help but grin widely. "Finally, a place I'd actually want to go to!"

"Well, we're here now; let's go kick in some badnik brains!" They both threw their fists into the air then charged into Act 1, meeting their first enemies of the steadily darkening hour: crabs. While Donna kicked and punched her way to free the little bunnies and birds inside, Sonic jumped onto a rotating light to catch a few rings, landing on buzzing bees to soften his fall. He hit a spring and instantly shot up the side of a marble complex in a spiral, Donna simply running upwards with the added speed. "I wish I could do that..."

"Nah, it screws with your balance and stuff." Crawling through a tight space, he let out a whoop as he jumped onto a spring and rocketed between bumpers like those found in the Special Zone, heavily increasing their ring count. Donna, seeing that the rabid ball of blue was having the time of his life, went on ahead through a generous string of rings to meet a series of moving coral and blue platforms. Noticing the pattern, she smiled at her returning best friend, "I guess the rumor you heard about Spring Yard Zone wasn't so true; these puppies seem like the elevators around here."

"Aw man..." They nonchalantly made their way down to a lower level, Sonic humming a tune he heard from a radio playing from one of the various buildings, before speeding down an incline at the bottom. However, a ball of blue soared over their heads, tripping them up in confusion. "The hell...?"

Before they could question their sanities the Sonic clone turned out to be just a rolling badnik with a nice paint job, evidently filled with a rabbit as Sonic crashed into its cranium. Donna, after scoring a few more rings, decided to take the upper root into the red violet skies; pressing a button she and the boy jumped onto a platform and watched the golden clouds grow closer. Ducking below some oddly turning platforms, they jumped onto a block laden with rings and floating over rotating spike balls, before reaching a ring and shield monitor. Sonic let his human friend take the added security-he _really_ didn't want to think about her dress getting ruined. The thought of the girl he'd known since he was four running around in her underclothing all the way up to Robotnik's base was simply too awkward to even _comprehend_. He took off once more, returning too the odd platforms. They were like stairs in a way, so they stayed on the top blocks to get to the other side. Feeling adventurous, he bypassed the lower path to instead keep jumping on platforms, rings fueling his energy and making his adrenaline rush all the more sweet. He stopped at the strange goal post to let Donna catch up, then let her go on ahead by letting the post launch her over more stair platforms. "But still Donna, there's springs everywhere; twenty bucks that the people who live here use them."

Remembering their conversation a few minutes ago, Donna shrugged, grinning as he used a spring to propel him up the side of the red marble complex, "I guess after we kick Robotnik's butt we'll ask."

They continued to the left, Sonic still grooving to the tune he heard-the eleven year old even had Donna groove with them down a slope; they were too bust laughing to get any kind of steps right. They ended up on a ramp looking up at the level above them, to see a spike-topped enemy blocking their path. "Umm...Donna, I'm pretty sure I can't smash into those..."

"Lemme lead the way, blue boy." Jumping upwards to face the enemy, she idly picked up a few rings, before kicking the metal contraption as far as she could. The thing exploded with a poof and a little pig came jumping out, Donna smirking at Sonic. "And _that's_ how we lowly humans get it done."

"Yes ma'am!" Catching up to the girl, he tapped his foot as he watched the spikes dominate the ramps they needed to cross. In a rare bit of intelligence he guessed that they had enough time to haul ass across the red marble when the spikes were at the 3 o'clock position, so with a fist in the air he charged, Donna running frantically at his side. To be fair they didn't scream _that_ shrilly as they gained a dozen rings for their stunt; in fact, considering the circumstances, they were as calm as calm could get. "If Robuttnik didn't put those things in here, then it's possible that the people here are crazy enough to use springs and bumpers to get around town."

"I'll keep that in mind." Donna watched Sonic abused a generous layout of springs to get more rings, then jumped into the fresh mountain air to a higher level. There, she destroyed a couple crabs while Sonic did the same thing as before, only a few meters to the left. Shaking her head, she admired the purple mountain tops for a split second, before being pulled down to the lower level by a gloved hand. Once Sonic hit a button the camouflaged wall before them opened up, and Sonic span forward in a dash thanks to a nicely placed spring, ending Act 1 with a flourish. Gulping, Donna readied herself, then charged forward with a battle cry into the floating ring. "KIYAAAAAH!"

This time they were prepared (although the dizzy feeling they felt during the spinning whiteness as they warped didn't go away). Both Sonic and Donna fought the barrier emeralds with all that their young bodies could offer, more than once bending over backwards to avoid falling into the flashing GOAL orbs. And because they were slightly less manic than the previous three times, Donna saw a large amount of rings floating in space. She deviated once to pick up an obscene amount of rotating rings, but after nearly failing twice decided to return back.

With a large scream Sonic rebounded off of what looked like peppermints and crashed through to the emerald. The haunting lullaby trilled off with a cheerful note as everything spun around and around, until neither of them could see. When their heads stopped wanting to fall off they were on the red marble streets of Spring Yard Zone once more, a magenta emerald clenched in Sonic's fists. "Woah..."

"Yeah, woah. Got the other one?' Donna pulled out the light gold emerald, while Sonic busied himself with the cyan. Nodding with approval, they put the emerald away, less tired than before thanks to both the emerald and the rings Donna scavenged. "To Act 2, blue boy?"

"Of course!" They waltzed their way to the second part of the Zone, Sonic admiring the skyscrapers rising against the mountain. His father's brother, his Uncle Chuck, lived in a suburb in Spring Yard where he owned a repair shop. Vowing to free his kind yet gruff family member, he caught up to Donna poking her stomach. "Ready to take on some badniks?"

"Only if you are." They entered Act 2, Sonic spiraling forwards thanks to a spring jutting out of the ground. Donna fluttered over to where he dropped out of her sight, watching him catching rings in his cobalt body as he followed the U-shape of the structure below, shooting upwards across a gap. "You're having far too much fun with this...WHEE!" She jumped and ran as fast as she could, mirroring her friend's antics and landing on a crab. She watched him take out a few spike-backed badniks, then pushed herself to go faster; she'd be damned if her heels meant she'd have to play catch-up to his blue behind all night.

Sonic carefully made his way across dips filled with spike balls, Donna scrambling to his side. Keeping with tradition they ascended upwards onto a higher pathway on a platform, passing the moving stairs with ease. Cracking open a few crabs and releasing a few pigs, the duo kicked their way through more spike-shelled snails (as Sonic had dubbed them) before dropping down onto springs, abusing their deliciously addictive powers to raise their ring count. They scaled down a red marble slope, before falling downwards to get caught under bumpers, collecting rings to soothe the painful throbbing of their temples. Donna acquired a shield as Sonic was pummeled mercilessly, the blonde having to bodily move the boy out of the way of more bumpers to land on a platform. "Argh, my head..."

Donna pulled out some asprin from one of her four first-aid kits, Sonic forcibly dry-swallowing them with a grimance. "Sorry Sonic, but I think all the water evaporated back in Marble Zone..."

"Damn you, lava sharks." Sonic shook his head to clear away the stars, then entered a building filled with spike balls, the two making sure not to be flung to a painful ring-loss via the goalpost. They used a spring as an elevator-"A-HA! This is totally elevator material, Donna!-to reach the building's roof, richer a dozen more rings and poorer a dozen sunbeams. Picking up the pace, they made their way across a series of shrinking platforms, Donna nearly falling below at least four times. Crossing stairs to land on another blue and coral platform, they panted for a few moments, before going off again. Falling down a slope, they saw the buildings gets sparser as the end of the Act grew closer, much to Donna's relief and Sonic's disappointment. The boy in question accidentally shot himself upwards, getting trapped in a room full of rings before Donna could show him the way out. "Thanks..."

"Don't mention it." After defying the laws of the universe to spin Dr. Robotnik's face off the sign signaling the end of the Act, they gulped. "Ready for round five?"

"For the emeralds!"

They found themselves spinning out of control as usual, blindly tumbling downwards and collecting a gluttonous amount of rings. On a leap of faith they stuck to the right path once meeting a crossroads; when they saw an arrow made of rings, Sonic did a Hail Mary in his head. Following the arrows, Donna had to abuse the R spheres more than once to keep them from backtracking, but they finally reached the emerald chamber, Sonic attacking the diamonds instantly. In an insane act of mercy by whoever created the Special Zones the 'GOAL' spheres were tucked away, an the lullaby repeated itself only twice before the hedgehog broke free and grabbed an emerald-colored emerald.

Sonic closed his eyes with relief, simply lying there for a moment. His battered limbs relaxed with the chaotic energies of the emeralds, most of the pain fading away into a rather pleasant ache. Yawning, he sat up helping a frazzled Donna to her feet. "Your hair has seen better days, my dear."

"Tell me about it." Combing her hair out with her fingers, Donna adjusted the Alice band in her hair, and straightened out her dress. With a mock curtsy to a bowing Sonic, they continued onwards, Donna cracking her knuckles. "That egghead's gonna be here."

Sonic grinned a wild, nearly-feral grin that his companion only saw during moments of extreme anticipation. "Then let's give him a show!"

"Alright!" They whooped then sprinted forwards at a reckless speed, gaining momentum as the red-paved pathway dipped downwards. Numerous bee-bots swooped out of who-knows-where, but they were too slow for the hedgehog and his human sidekick; only a bumper could stop them, as they acknowledged whilst ricocheting across a gap. Getting their first ten rings out of a nifty monitor, they entered a building once more, avoiding spike balls to get to the other side. They stretched comfortably as the blue and coral elevator blocks rose, stepping off before they could be squished into the ceiling. Sonic cracked open a crab while Donna jumped onto a spring, landing on a platform. She pulled her friend up with a nice usage of her impressive arm strength, running ahead to jump on a button. "These things are so much fun to push."

Sonic laughed at her baby-like joy, then pulled her away from the button to the end of the red tiled hallway, staring at the rotating spike balls before them apprehensively. "These move waaaaay slower than the other ones."

"Guess we gotta take it down an octave." Donna laughed as he whined; Sonic had always hated taking things slow. After much fidgeting and pouting they jumped through the adjoining hallway, freed another woodland creature, and landed in an elevator, rising into the rich plum skies. After continuing upwards Donna was launched into the air thanks to a goalpost, shrieking as she fell down three stories in a ring-filled spiral. Sonic guffawed as he tumbled after her, following the curve of the U-shaped structure until he found himself in a secret wall. He grinned widely as he saw the two monitors hidden by the gray-mesh covering the secret wall, before bursting out, powered by both speed and invincibility. Grabbing Donna's little wrist, he plowed recklessly ahead, no longer intimidated by the spike balls. The blonde girl could barely get any words out past her laughter. "I-I thought we...we were g-gonna take it d-down an octave?"

"Screw that!" The two were laucnhed into the air thanks to his momentum, and landed in another spring-filled-with-various-monitor-and-ring pit, getting yet another invincibility run. After seeing the bottomless pit below Sonic decided to cross the floating stair platforms with care, landing on a pathway filled with orange, seemingly breakable blocks. Letting go of Donna's hand, he looked upwards to see Robotnik's hovercraft floating above, the madman grinning insanely. "'Bout time you showed up, Eggman!"

"Really now, is _that_ the greeting I get from you? I'm gonna give you two brats a lesson you won't forget!" Granted, that little monologue of his was impressive in theory, but by the time he destroyed a block with the spike protruding out of the bottom of his craft, Donna had made her mark on the poor machine. And once Sonic joined in on the fun, it was over in seconds. "GAH! I'll get you two!" And with that he sped off into the pansy-colored sky.

"We showed that egghead what's what! Us three, him zilch!" Sonic threw his fist into the air as Donna destroyed the container holding dozens of various little animals. They ran off into Spring Yard Zone, and the two spared a moment to watch the sun set closer and closer to the purple mountains. "You ready to go?"

"Of course." Linking arms the two best friends said farewell to the Zone before moving forwards, getting closer and closer to Dr. Robotnik's base of evil. "You know where we're heading next," he asked as they followed a street heading towards the earth far below.

Donna tapped her bottom lip, before poiting a dainty finger. "If my map skills are correct-and they _are_ indeed the most truly _epic_ of map skills-then we're headed to somewhere called Labyrinth Zone."

"Labyrinth Zone?' Sonic laughed, high fiving his companion. "This'll be a cake walk!"

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**...and we all laugh at his naivety at one of, if not the most, frustrating levels in Sonic history. HOW WE LAUGH XD**


	5. Labyrinth Zone

**This chapter is going to be a bit different than the previous ones, seeing there's a consistent motif and emphasis on past events than on the current Zone. But I shall explore Labyrinth in all it's wretched glory, even bypassing the shortcut to give you all a wider scope of it :D**

**Here's a super special shout out to Symphony-of-Delirium, who not only has reviewed, but added this story to her favorites. Therefore, I dedicate this chapter to her :)**

**Also, if you notice on the review section, there seems to be one from me onto my own story. Don't be alarmed, that's my cousin, who was on my account and seems to have left a review for me...seems as if he doesn't understand the properties of anonymous reviews XD**

**I only own Donna Fairview in this story, which is made solely for non-profit entertainment.**

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As the sky grew darker they finally reached the entrance to Labyrinth Zone at the base of the Spring Yard Zone's mountains. A gust of air revealed the caver to be very dank and mineral-heavy, making Sonic shudder. He knew those scents all too well; it was the stench of an underwater cave. "Erm...are you sure this is the right place?"

"Yep. Labyrinth Zone is right in here..." Donna rubbed her arms, then took Sonic's hand before going in; she had a bad feeling about this place. Ivy and moss grew on tan stone walls, while glowing crystals illuminated the dark tunnel. It was beautiful to the eye, but the scent of stale water grew stronger until Sonic began to feel faint. Only the pressure of his friend's delicate hand kept him from bolting out the exit screaming for his mother. Finally they reached the beginning of the Act, but to Sonic's absolute _horror_, there was something green and liquid flowing under and around the pathway they stood on. "Oh God..."

"Sonic, keep it together..." Donna rubber his shoulder, a worried expression on his face. Sonic, despite passing off his aversion to water as something of a joke, was truly terrified it. Of course, nearly drowning at the age of six did that to most people; if it wasn't for his father Jules and Uncle Chuck jumping into that damned river to pull him out, neither of them would be there. Sonic was trying his hardest not to burst into tears at the water swelling just below their reach, so she hugged him, before thumping on his back. "I can swim pretty well nowadays, and I'll be here right with you."

"Yeah..." His voice was faint and miserable enough to make Donna want to cry herself. Noticing the expression on her face he quickly put on a smile, punching her shoulder. "Come on. The sooner we go, the faster we get out of here."

"Yeah!" They laughed to soothe their nerves, then strode forward into the labyrinth. They picked up three rings before the stone pathway dipped down to submerge their waists in surprisingly warm water. Quickly jumping out, they got more rings before staring at the ledge of stone blocking their way. The way forward was all underwater now. "Ready?"

"Ok...on three." Sonic forced himself not to hyperventilate, then after three seconds passed, they jumped into the murky abyss. By some grace of god the water was perfectly transparent to their eyes, letting Sonic bash in the head of a burrowing badnik before it could spear Donna in the face. Their momentum carried them far over a circling spiked mace, and the two broke the water's surface for a moment, getting air before dropping back down. Sonic sank immediately to his feet while Donna floated just an inch from the floor, letting the hedgehog get the shield from a nearby monitor. Going down deeper into the labyrinth they destroyed a few more badniks, broke open a ring monitor, and pressed a button that opened a decorated wall in front of them. All of this was in a smooth, fluid motion; if they tried to go too fast Sonic would freak out and drown before Donna could drag him to the surface. A large bubble of air erupted from the ground, and Sonic immediately took it, refilling his lungs with a gasp.

Donna, having a much larger lung capacity, merely went on ahead, counting the number of seconds before she would need more air. After they jumped up protruding stone ledges (the water did wonders for their jumping heights, but killed their speed) they reached the surface once more, Donna hanging back to get some rings. Sonic panted fiercely, sucking in the stagnant air like there was no tomorrow, before his blue-eyed companion touched his shoulder. Giving her a thumbs-up, he strode forwards, destroying three more badniks with ease. Gasping in air he jumped back into the water, landing on a shark-like badnik. Sinking quickly, he nearly screamed at what he saw: spikes coming out of nearly every nook and cranny. Donna had to drag him to the surface so he could yell, the girl shaking her head. "At least you didn't open your mouth..."

"Hardy har har." They gulped in oxygen before sinking below, cracking open more sharks before reaching the bottom. Sonic got more air while Donna jumped onto a button on top of a decorated wall, floating trough the air as gracefully as Sonic wasn't. The vacuum behind the wall sucked them a ways to land parallel to spikes, the sharp metal dulled enough so that Sonic's shield wasn't harmed. Patting the rubber-like material in thanks, the hedgehog and the human sank lower, landing on a platform only to jump off as it rose to the surface. Dodging the mace, they continued forwards...until Sonic felt his lungs squeeze. Immediately he was transported back five years to the bottom of the river outside Star Light Zone, unable to breathe, unable to think...freaking out, he screamed, then choked as his windpipe swelled to stop the intake of water. "!"

"!" Donna nearly screamed herself as she watched Sonic begin to drown, then pulled him over to a bubble vent, the countdown screeching in her head ending once he inhaled air. She shook him slightly, making him come back to the present, before they continued onwards, wary of Sonic's hydrophobia. Picking up rings, they ducked under more swinging maces before ascending to the surface, Sonic sucking in air harshly. "Sonic..."

He held up a soaked hand. "I'm fine...I'm fine...let's just go."

Knowing that he would talk once he was out of the labyrinth Donna let it go, the duo watched a series of little platforms linked to a chain rise up out of the water only to circle back into the green depths. Noting how they'd be squished if they rode the platforms over to the right, Donna jumped on a water soaked platform and used the descending platforms to raise herself higher, finally landing on a button. Sonic waited impatiently for her to come back and with a final intake of air they jumped in, sinking far below the muted light of the surface. Past a burrowing badnik was a goalpost, the force propelling both Sonic and Donna past a series of spears into a decorated wall. While Sonic refilled on air from a bubble vent Donna manned the button, the wall revealing a step-like platform covered in rings. Sonic was sure to make sure protruding spears didn't kill his shield, and was the first to jump on a spring up to the surface. Donna, however, got stuck on a stone ledge, and had to scale her way out, her lung capacity finally at the max. Scrambling out of the water onto a floating piece of cork, she coughed and wheezed until her lungs were refreshed, Sonic rubbing her back in sympathy. "Whoa...that was close..."

"I got you there." He smiled a somehow genuine smile, let himself be hugged, then jumped up to get a row of floating rings just of out reach, Donna admiring the pretty glowing crystals illuminating their way. They jumped in again to land on a shark, narrowly avoiding being impaled by spikes; sinking down they nearly were impaled again. Jumping onto the chain-linked platforms, they were surprised as a spike ball-covered badniks launched its spheres at them, earning their opinion as 'Meanest Badnik Ever'. Ascending to the surface, they jumped over fireballs being shot at them from gargoyle-like heads in the stone ledges, got stuck behind a cork block momentarily, and punched the face out of a burrowing badnik. Suddenly, a loud, wet, rumbling noise was heard and the ground beneath them shook, the two looking on in horror as the water rose rapidly. Sonic found himself remembering how his leg had been stuck between two stones, just like those paving the pathways of Labyrinth Zone, and the current pushing him downwards, unable to free himself...Donna shook him roughly and h snapped out of it. He made a heart shape with his hands, to which she smiled.

Pressing a button to open the decorated wall, Donna floated behind her friend, and was abruptly spears in the back, losing their hard earned rings and making her gag in surprise. Mineral heavy water rushed into her mouth, and Sonic frantically pushed her to a bubble vent; were she to drown, then he would lose his sanity down in the murky hell and drown as well. After her near death experience was over and done with, they scaled upwards and jumped on a button, the heavily decorated ledge above them opening up to reveal the surface. With incredible relief they got out of the water and finished the Act; the fact that they didn't have enough rings to get an emerald was discarded for the fact that they were still alive. "Oh god...this place..."

Sonic put his hands on his knees and let his dripping head hang, closing his emerald eyes. He knew relief from drowning better than she did; when he was pulled out of the water by two strong hands and hoisted to fresh air he _bawled_ with relief, his mother, maternal aunt and cousin all fussing over him to make sure he wasn't still at the bottom of the river. Shaking his spine-covered head to get rid of the image, he wearily took Donna's hand and went forward, scuffing his shoe with every step.

Expertly jumping over spikes and destroying badniks, they continued on with all the confidence they could muster. Confidence...that was quickly thrown out the window as they fell victim to a water slide. Screaming and flailing, Donna heard Sonic swearing everything his surprisingly sheltered mind could come up with. They flew off the edge of the slope and slammed into a spring, streaking down another water slide into the green water. Donna forced Sonic back to the surface so he could sputter in some air, then let herself sink, her heart beating rapidly. Sonic, rubbing his arms, waited with his friend by a bubble vent, until a monitor caught his eye. Jumping high onto the ledge (he'd give the Zone this: he rather enjoyed the increased jumping abilities) he cracked open the monitor and was encased in fizzing stars, grinning widely despite being underwater. Quickly grabbing Donna's waist, he grabbed an air bubble-better to be safe than sorry-before running as fast as he could. Granted, he was painfully slow underwater, but the shark badnik was even slower than himself, evident by the little chicken clucking merrily despite having to air to cluck with. Ignoring the irritating maces, he rampaged through badniks and rings to a bubble vent, waiting extra so that Donna could get more air as well.

She smiled at his patience, then followed him up a stone ledge, only to be propelled through an underwater current. While Sonic span with his belly parallel to the tan walls she span like a top, and they both spiraled their way into the chamber, avoiding sharks and spikes. Taking the spring back to the surface, they landed on a platform jutting out in space, Donna taking time to get all the rings in the area while Sonic looked for a button that could open the decorated wall to their right. Irritated, he smashed open a ring monitor, finding the button underneath. "Very tricky, Robotnik, but not tricky enough!"

They platformed their away to the other side, pushing overhanging ivy and moss away from their dripping wet faces. A goalpost launched Donna clear into an invincibility monitor, and she doubled back to jump down a crevasse, Sonic on her bright red heels. Activating a button, the decorated ledge below opened up to a watery pit, and they jumped in with a splash, doing the same thing as before below. Donna forced herself not to laugh as she destroyed the 'Meanest Badnik Ever', pushing all her weight down into a cork sponge so it would sink and let her pass. With Sonic egging her on she vaulted over a step-like stone and bashed through spears, the hedgehog on the lookout for more bubble vents. Just as her sparkly stars faded away Sonic felt his air running dangerously low, unwanted memories surfacing rapidly. Luckily a bubble erupted from the ground and he took it, forcing memories of his mother's crying face out of his mind.

Ascending broken stone ledges, they came face-to-face with a spike ball badnik. Then Sonic, in a burst of ingenuity, simply ducked, letting the spike spheres pass over harmlessly. Donna, on the other hand, was hit, but managed to get back a dozen or so rings before they bounced back into nothingness. Wanting to get out of the bath water-like pit, Sonic jumped onto chain-linked platforms, Donna motioning him to get onto another line for his current ride was taking him straight into a spike trap. Breathing in deeply as they surfaced, they jumped onto the pathway before them and ran as fast as their waterlogged shoes could let them, shivering as they brushed against the cold metal sign. "One more Act..."

"One Act too many, in my opinion." Sonic shook water out of his ears then wrung out his gloves, Donna doing the same with her dress. Blinking blue eyes, she rubbed his back, the hedgehog sighing in appreciation. "Too many bad memories and stuff in this place...Mom definitely better stop trying to give me swimming lessons after thus."

"Once we free the island, I bet they'll reroute all the creeks and rivers away from town just for you." They laughed at the wish (and _oh_ how badly Sonic wanted that wish), then cautiously continued into Act 3, admiring the decorations on the walls so to get their mind off of what was to come. "I wonder who made this place."

"Cavemen, probably. Bet they left 'cause of all this water though; I would." He jumped into the air and span so to destroy the badniks burrowing up to attack them, getting his spines tangled in the moss above. Irritated, he struggled to get it out, and promptly slid into a water slide. Donna grabbed onto his wrist to try and save him, but was pulled down as well. The steep incline of the slide only grew worse until they were launched into the air, screaming as they fell into another one. Desperate to try and get out, Sonic launched himself onto a ledge, Donna still falling downwards with a scream. Frantic, he crushed a button and looked below; an open pathway had opened before him, but going into the labyrinth without his anchor was a suicide mission in the making. Donna had punched her fists into the wall, breaking her fingers but keeping herself from going down into what seemed like a bottomless pit. She continued to punch her fists into the wall, biting her lip to keep from screaming in pain, but managed to break a pathway back to Sonic. The boy gently held her broken hands, wanting to cry. "Oh Donna..."

He pulled out a first aid kit and carefully wrapped her hands in gauze, adding another layer to protect from the water they were about to be submerged in. Kissing her knuckles (he'd always wanted to try that after seeing it on a cartoon), he smiled sweetly at her, gaining an affectionate ruffle to his spines. "You're just too sweet, blue boy."

"Comes with the commentary; ready to go, my dear?" At her nod they jumped over the water slide into the opened up pathway, Donna using an emerald to help speed up her hands' healing. Jumping onto a button, they waited for a decorated ledge to pull away, before descending lower in the musty labyrinth. Waiting for a swinging mace to be in the right position, the blue-furred boy and his blonde-haired friend jumped into the water, Sonic smashing a shark and Donna manning a button. As soon as their pathway was clear they traveled along the bottom, the water slightly cooler than before. At the girl's insistence he sucked in an air bubble, while Donna waited idly between retracting spears...only to fall through the floor thanks to a piece of sponge. Deciding that the lower path was as good as any, he dove down deeper, getting another bubble for good measure. They scaled up crystal-covered ledges before being sucked into a current, instinctively grabbing onto a protruding pole. Sliding their weight down and away from a spike trap, they let go to do the same once more, closing their eyes as the current tried to force water into their eye sockets. They finally were expelled into a chamber, Sonic launched upwards by a spring and landing on a button.

Donna below was at her air capacity and was anxiously waiting for an air bubble. Her mental countdown began to screech between her ears, and she stood between two air vents...yet there were no bubbles coming out. Panicking, she began to flail, trying to make bubbles of her own. So caught up in her bubble making she didn't notice two bubbles erupt until Sonic got one, staring at her oddly. She desperately sucked on in and waved sheepishly at him. He decided to let it go; she was weird enough to hang out with him on a regular basis, after all. Avoiding spheres thrown by an irate badnik, they ascended up stone ledges, the blonde bombshell pressing a button so they could resurface. Once they did and were safely on land, he finally snickered. "Dude..."

"Not a word, blue boy. Not. A. Word." With the promise of a beating he let off, smashing himself into a wall after he absently hit a goalpost. "That look like it hurt. Still have all your teeth?"

"Think so." He shuddered-he was under the offshoot of a water slide, and the water was painfully frigid-before following his friend towards the inevitable confrontation with Dr. Robotnik...only to freak out at the water rose dramatically. "What the heck? Let's get out of here!" And so they ran; totally ignoring rings or badniks they frantically scaled the tan stone ledges, for completely different reasons.

Donna was terrified that they would get trapped underwater somewhere and drown. That Dr. Robotnik would win because the island's only hope got stuck under a decorated ledge with no bubble vents and a year's worth of hysteria, and then all the people from all the Zones would have to pay because of it. Or worse yet, _Sonic_ would drown, and she would have to watch him die because she had better lungs and could swim and didn't have a debilitating fear of water. Then she'd have to beat Dr. Robotnik by herself, and if she survived _that_, would have to tell every member of the Hedgehog family why their second youngest member was lying dead somewhere underwater. The image made a thrill spiral down her spine, and she clambered up the slope with no thought to her aching feet or her aching hands or _anything_. Her only thoughts were to the water level, how much stone there was, the constant presence of her best friend beside her, and how'd she _keep it that way_.

Sonic, on the other hand, was simply terrified. The memories of that forsaken day were coming back full throttle, so much that he wasn't running for his life miles underground with his best friend on the search for a madman. No, instead he was six years old, snot nosed and bright eyed, running for his life as a broken dam's worth of river water came gushing after him. He wasn't scaling the tan walls, but jumping over tree roots and stones, too blind with fear to get away from the river, because the river was coming fast, frothing and white and cold and green and hot and too much to handle. That day Donna was at his side too, all of eight years old and pigtails thumping on her shoulders, but when it came down to it she would survive. She _would_ survive, because he'd thrown himself in the water's way to save her. So his thoughts weren't all there, stuck somewhere between two time periods, but had the same reasoning: keep running, keep jumping, and for the love of all that is holy _keep Donna safe_.

Suddenly they rose out of their ascent to meet Dr. Robotnik face to face. For a split second none of them so much as breathed, trying to register the evil genius in their presence. Then they heard the gush of water below and it set their priorities straight: get out of Labyrinth Zone. If the madman drowned on the way up, all the better. So upwards they ascended, ignoring the hovercar as the water rose with increasing speed. Numerous times were they stabbed with spears or hit by fireballs, but they wouldn't have it; as long as Donna caught the ring they'd be ok. The air became less and less thick with haze and moss, until finally they broke over the final ledge with a heated cry and attacked Robotnik with everything they had. Like a true coward he took off, leaving the two behind as the green water finally stopped on its rapid rush. In a daze Donna saved dozens of little animals from the button-release storage container, and they silently walked out of Labyrinth Zone, emerging in the dead of night. "Oh God..."

Sonic immediately dropped to his knees and wailed in his hands, bent over as if praying deeply to the gods for their continued safety. Donna didn't speak, but knelt next to him and rubbed soothing circles on his back, basking in the fact that were alive to see another Zone. After a few minutes he calmed down, sniffling and wiping furiously at his eyes. "You ok, blue boy?"

"Yes ma'am." He shuddered, then let himself be puleld up. A wind blew by and they shivered; the heat from the labyrinth's water was now bitingly cold, and Sonic rubbed his human friend's arms. At least he had fur to keep him warm. "To Star Light Zone?"

"To Star Light Zone." With that they joined hands and went towards the last great Zone on the island, Sonic's mind far away. He remembered how he had taken his cousin Sonia's hand in his left and Donna's on the right, the two girls swinging his arms to keep his mind occupied on less frightening things. He absently did the same, and when Donna responded back, he smiled. While that day had introduced him to the world of hydrophobia, it also introduced him to the world of loving care, something which he was extremely grateful for at the moment.

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**And so ends Labyrinth Zone. In case you're wondering, yes, Sonic has a cousin named Sonia (and a maternal [as in from the mother's side] aunt named Aleena) in this continuity, simply because I both versions of his family and they can be put to use. Yay for canon mashing ^^**


	6. Star Light Zone

**Had my Sweet 16 party last night, and it was freaking EPIC :D**

**So here's one of my favorite zones, Star Light Zone. Ironic, seeing how my TV screen never let me see the stars...sad day XD It's rather short, especially compared to the last chapter, but the levels...are rather boring to write about...I still love them though :3 Only this Zone until Scrap Brain...here's to hoping that our heroes survive to see the sequel.**

**I only own Donna Fairview in this story, which is made solely for non-profit entertainment.**

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Significantly colder than they had started out this morning, the two were once again high in the sky, looking at the light green path before them. Stars illuminated the pitch black heavens above, and a gust of bitterly old wind swept through the temperature-less night, making Donna shiver and Sonic rub his arms harder. "You figure all that warm water would've warmed us up a bit..."

"And such is the cruel, cruel irony." Sonic faked swooning, making Donna giggle. Walking towards Act 1, Donna saw the urban city below, fondly thinking of her kindly old grandparents Colin and Christine, the latter whom she shared her middle name with. Remembering that they were locked away somewhere in the hands of Dr. Robotnik, she huffed angrily, and stepped up the pace, Sonic eagerly following after. "After this is all over and done with, I'm so having a party."

"Am I invited?" And the puppy dog eyes were unleashed once more.

"But of course. Now let's go." Giggling as he broke into a happy dance, they cautiously ran into Act 1, on the lookout for badniks out to ruin their day (or night, as they recalled). While Donna busied herself with collecting rings, Sonic had a hunch concerning the wall in front of him. Following that hunch, he span into the wall, and fell down a hidden pit, returning in a star storm of sparkles and 30 rings richer. Carrying Donna like a damsel, he jumped onto a higher pathway and ran as fast as he dared, jumping up a spring into the dark skies. To their surprise a bomb-like badnik didn't explode when he bumped into it, thereby earning the reputation as "Cheapest Badnik Ever". They pathway they stood on lowered like an escalator into the pathway below, the two gliding down the curved slope with an ease they didn't have the day before. Deciding not to go into a lower pathway, they jumped across a gap and ran up a ramp, a spring shooting them merrily up a ring-laden slope and into the sky. By the time Sonic's invincibility ended, they almost had enough rings to try their luck in the Special Zone, but had yet to destroy a badnik. "How odd..."

"What's odd?" Sonic carefully passed under a spike ball badnik to continue down the S-curved pathway, absently registering that unlike in Labyrinth Zone (he shuddered, and not just because a gust of wind cooled his skin to sub-zero temperatures), this one didn't try to kill him.

"No badniks to be found, save the stupid bomb one and that guy." Jumping into a rotating wheel of platforms floating in space (Zones beyond the boundaries of her home town never ceased to amaze her), they dodged annoying fireballs shot at them. "And these don't really count..."

They passed through a series of these rotating platforms, calmly collecting the rings that floated in the center of the wheels. Sonic tapped his foot, trying to keep his senses alter. Because of the Zone's low-intensity, his adrenaline, faithfully pumping for the last hours, was beginning to wane. And thanks to experiences in previous areas of South Island, he couldn't afford to slip up; if he screwed up and Donna got hurt, he'd never live it down. Jumping back onto a silver and green pathway, he span under a chill spike-sphere badnik while Donna jumped over it, gaining momentum down the pathway and reaching a jackpot of rings below. He continued up a loop, the ring's warmth putting feeling back into his fingertips, and ran up a ramp, the pathway behind him crumbling into pieces. Donna stood on the other end of the gap; he was not pleased. "Oops..."

"Second time today you've screwed me over, blue boy!" She stamped her pump-clad foot on the ground (how she'd manage to keep them looking presentable despite lava, water, and spikes was beyond both of their reasoning) before backing up a few paces. Praying to whomever god would listen, she ran forward and flung herself across the gap, landing hard on the other side. "Ouchie."

"Sorry, Donna." He helped her up to his level, was hit on the side of the head, and cracked open the ring monitor at the end of the dead-end. "...well _this _sucks."

Donna groaned, then jumped into the gap below, embarrassed to find out it was only a six-foot difference between the two levels. Of course, she wasn't yet 5 feet tall, so her perspective of the matter was off. After Sonic joined her on the bottom, they ran forward,s fans coming out increasing their speed. Noticing the gigantic spinning ring at the end of the Act, they steeled themselves for the inevitable. As by the time the metal sign stopped spinning to shot their faces, they were screaming in a void of white.

Surprisingly enough, the Zone was very similar to the one right before it, but it didn't mean it was any easier to navigate. Twice Sonic and Donna found themselves stuck between a rick (an R sphere) and a hard place (the candy-colored wall), the hedgehog spinning wildly and the human flailing about. There were no ring arrows to point out the right way to the emerald chamber, so before they _finally_ managed to figure out the elusive way to the infamous room, Sonic swore they backtracked no less than five times. Birds and fish blinded their wheeling eyes as the lullaby overwhelmed their ears, Donna finding herself in an awkward position between the wall and a peppermint-like sphere. Sonic was bouncing between bumpers and the fizzing diamonds like crazy, screaming shamelessly as he felt himself grow sick with nausea, until he finally broke through and grabbed the red emerald. The chamber span wildly before the two were dumped unceremoniously on the ground. Sonic, his brain befuddled, had had enough, and promptly ran over the the edge of the platform so he could puke.

"Aww, Sonic..." Donna rubbed his back soothingly as he finished retching, then pulled out a water bottle from one of the remaining first-aid kits she had so he could wash his mouth out. "You good for another Act?"

He shook his head, quills bobbing, and shakily stood up, giving her a thumbs-up. "Yes ma'am!"

With a fist thrown onto the air they charged the Act, all silent save the quiet piano music echoing from a building below. It filled them with a sense of ease they hadn't felt since Green Hill Zone, so when Sonic ricocheted off a spring high into the heavens, he didn't scream that loudly. Donna, staying behind to pick up the mammoth string of rings, ran up the ramp (defying physics was becoming a hobby of hers) and waited quite a while to come down; the altitude her friend was currently plummeting from caused her to be a bit concerned. When he finally landed in a heap at her feet, she shook her head. "What goes up always comes down, blue boy."

"I'll keep that in mind." Stretching his arm-the poor limb broke his fall-he jumped over the chill spike-sphere badnik and broke into a spin just as the dimly glowing pathway curved, gaining an unholy amount of speed. Donna had to sprint as fast as her feet could carry her to keep up, and fell behind on the first loop. The two found going at high speed comfortable on the silky-smooth pavement, and they eventually found themselves rocketing into the starry skies, pinpricks of light illuminating their ascent. They landed a ways into a wall, sliding down the metal paneling into a spring and almost into a badnik. Luckily it didn't shoot its weapons, and they continued along, moving over camel back-like bumps in the road. Sonic somehow got stuck at the end, pushing against an invisible wall while Donna scratched her head. "That's weird."

The invisible wall gave way to escalator steps, the duo walking down to another set. They ended up on a platform which dumped them in front of a certain green badnik, yellow spheres calmly floating about. "Man, these guys put hippies to shame." Sonic laughed at the thing (he was actually appreciative that he didn't have to dodge evil balls every five seconds), then ducked under it, descending down more stair platforms. They eventually stopped by a large pitfall to the city below, a seesaw-like contraption floating in space. Shrugging, they jumped onto it, quickly moving over so the spike ball currently aiming at their heads wouldn't gouge out their brains. They did the same thing on a higher-up seesaw, before landing in an enclosed area swarming with bomb badniks. Quickly booking it to a rotating wheel platform, they dodged red hot debris, Donna nearly tripping over Sonic's foot into the pit below." Wow, those guys are more of a bombshell than you are."

Donna huffed, crossing her arms, then stepped off onto a pathway, brutally destroying the ring monitors before her ina flash of blonde hair and red fabrics. Now 50 rings richer, she glanced back at a sheepish Sonic. "You were saying, blue boy?"

"Nothin', nothin'..." They went back to the wheel and landed on a lower pathway, the curved ramp taking them right to the end of the Act. The floating ring spun nonchalantly by the metal sign, and they sprinted forwards with a battle cry, sucked into spinning nothingness the instant they felt the ring's warmth.

The Special Stage was surpisingly pathetic in a sense. Once again they were immediately inside the emerald chamber, Donna deciding to take a go at attacking the fizzing diamonds. Sonic sucked up like a vacuum, but suddenly felt an insatiable draw to the 'GOAL' orbs, frantically trying to bounce away. Donna pulled back from the diamonds to try and pull her friend away from the black hole, but found herself drawn to it as well. It took a lucky kick at a 'R' sphere to set things right; from that point on they decided to stay _far_ away from that corner. Pressing his blue-furred body against the diamonds, the eleven year old was desperate to get to the emerald underneath, squeezing his emerald eyes shut. Finally he broke through the color-changing barrier and fell into the glowing white emerald, the victory trill transporting them away from the Special Stage.

Suddenly they were floating in white space, their six emerald lined up in a row before them. A sudden though blared through their minds, and they understood that yes, they had everyone and that yes, Dr. Robotnik no longer had the threat of the emeralds-no, the _Chaos Emeralds_, on his side and that yes, they had a real chance at defeating them. Just as their epiphany began it ended, the two lying on the paths of Star Light Zone in a circle of gems. "Woah..."

"Woah..." Sonic sat up and admired the way they glowed prettily in tandem with the dimly illuminated steel of the Zone. Gathering the emerald, he helped Donna to her feet, and grinned widely. "Robuttnik's going _down_."

"Hell yes!" They whooped gleefully before charging into the final Act, ready to take on some Eggman. Sonic ran ahead to jump into a triplet of floating rings, Donna lagging behind to watch the lights in the city below flicker out one by one while the stars shone brighter. Catching up after a moment of awe, she jumped over a stationary badnik...and found herself sliding on her bum down a devilishly steep incline. Sonic, trying to run, had to break into a spin or suffer the consequences of tripping; he made sure to steer far away from the girl. As they rounded out the curve at the bottom of the incline Sonic shot into the air once more, surprised to see that they were no longer high above the city, but close enough to the earth that they could see the brick foundations supporting each building. Landing in a heap, he got back up sheepishly as Donna laughed, grumbling to himself. "Aww, come off it blue boy."

Pouting slightly, he strided up the ramp leading to a higher pathway, only to fly off and hit Donna in the face, pinning her to the ground. "What the f-"

"Language, mister!" Kicking him off and appreciating the 'oomph!' he wheezed, she licked the tip of a slim finger and stuck it in the air. "...that fan right there is blowing backwards. What a tard muffin."

They waited until the fan stopped before running forwards, straight into the spring that waited by wall. While Sonic span into a ball and shot off at an incredible speed, speed Donna felt her legs moving faster than ever, the two soaring into the star lit skies with a whoosh of air. They landed on a seesaw and narrowly avoided being gored by a spike ball, landing gracefully on a high platform. Sonic tripped on the little potted plants lining the side, and after forcing himself not to swear like a sailor, jumped onto a higher platform, skipping a seesaw altogether. Going on ahead while Donna caught up, he jumped onto a seesaw and was propelled onto a higher level...only to be ambushed by a swarm of bomb badniks. They exploded and with much fewer rings than before he bailed out of there, quickly getting a first aid kit lying innocently below the machines.

Donna, who was waiting on the seesaw, shook her head. "Retard."

He promptly brought his flapping wrist to his collar bone and contorted his face, making awkward sounds. Donna fell into a fit of hysterics so powerful that she nearly fell to her doom, Sonic pulling her back onto the seesaw as the spike ball launched itself. They landed on a pathway formed by a ramp, the two still laughing as they ran down an S-curved platform and through a loop,. They had to stop giggling in order to forcibly walk up a tricky ramp to a ledge baring a ramp, the blonde haired bombshell shaking her head. "What am I gonna do with you?"

"Well, my dear, if you put it like that-"

"PERVERT!" She punched him in the gut, the boy falling onto a spring and spiraling upwards into fresher air. Muttering to her self, she did the same without the spin, but instead into an awkward sort of somersault that left her brain swiveling on its stem. Seeing how Sonic was on all fours laughing madly, she growled, then chased after him, ready to beat some manners into the little imp. Sensing the danger, he ran off, and they sped through a series of loops so fast that the stars above blurred into milky galaxies. They landed on a rising platform, Donna throttling the hedgehog for all her worth, until a series of bombs exploded below, the debris hitting her in the back. "!"

"Ah crap!" Joking put aside for later, he rubbed the growing bruise just above the fabric of her dress, the two soaking up discarded rings as they flew about in a frenzy. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Smiling, she poked him in the forehead." But keep your ladykilling for someone in your own leauge."

"Hey!" She laughed at his mock expression of hurt, then they turned towards the pathway before them, the steel-lined surface glowing softly. They quickly scaled the ramp on the other side...and were almost crushed by the gigantic spike swing flying overhead. Screaming, they quickly backed up, Donna taking a shield from a monitor, before charging, ducking as the air was displaced by the giant metal death trap. Scrambling onto a platform, they coughed awkwardly into their fists, running down a long pathway to get their minds back into the game. Flying through various loops, the wind making goosebumps erupt all over their skin, they flew into the tasteless night and landed on a seesaw, propelled up onto a higher platform, which brought them down onto a lower pathway. Noticing how bombs lined the ceiling, they bailed out of there, escalating stairs taking them to safety. But in safety they reached a problem. "Oh, this sucks..."

A spike-sphere badnik, indestructible by normal means, was slowing floating towards them, the ceiling peppered with bombs that were dying to explode. Deciding to take the strategic way to the other side, they lured the badnik away from the bombs, and as soon as there was a clearing hurdled over the machine and ran for their lives, red hot debris erupting from little poofs as the bombs exploded. A goalpost launched Sonic headfirst into a long string of seesaws, Donna gazing upwards as a familiar hovercraft descended from the inky black heavens. "Robotnik!"

"Ho ho ho!" He crossed his arms and smirked beneath his massive mustache, glasses reflecting what little light there was to be found. "I see that you've survived, but it was just as I wanted! Now, I can have the pleasure of defeating you two brats with my own hands!"

"Save it, Robuttnik! You're going down!" The emerald's chaotic energy filled Sonic with self-confidence, a determined look on his young face.

"WHAT? You DARE call me by that _blasphemous_ name?" The madman's face grew bright red, and the two kids swore that steam rose from his ears. "That's it! I'm defeating you right here and now!"

He suddenly dropped a flashing red spike ball onto a seesaw, the thing ready to explode at any given moment. On a hunch Sonic jumped onto the seesaw, the spike ball shooting up to explode on the hovercraft. And thus, using physics to their advantage, the two double-teamed the madman and brought him down with relative ease, the singed maniac taking off into the night. Running past the seesaws Sonic cracked down on the button-topped container, and dozens of little animals burst outwards, nuzzling the childrens' legs with affection. They smiled with the victory of another Zone's liberation...then paused.

Far ahead of them, in the direction Dr. Robotnik flew off to, was a red light glowing in the distance. It was like the lights seen by large cities during later hours, and Donna summed it up nicely. "That's the only Zone left on the island-no one lives there because there's nothing there to live on. They call it the No Zone..."

"Well, I bet the Eggman calls it something now." They headed lower and lower into the Zone until they were walking below the faintly glowing platforms that floated above the city, the wind making them shudder with cold and loneliness. "I bet he has everyone over there...Mom, Dad, your parents, all our family and friends..." He paused, then frowned, staring at the ground. "This is for real this time. He's gonna pull out all the stops so we don't stop him. We might even..."

She didn't say anything, but wrapped an arm around his shoulder, continuously walking towards the belly of the beast. Who's to say that they wouldn't be killed in wherever Dr. Robotnik kept his base trying to save everyone they'd ever known?

They honestly didn't know. But that wasn't going to stop them from trying.

* * *

**Next up is Scrap Brain Zone. I'm going to have a field day with **_**that**_** masterpiece...**


	7. Scrap Brain Zone

**(drags self out of grave) I...LIVE!**

**...*cough* And here is everyone's absolute favorite level, Scrap Brain Zone. After all, why would we spend so much time in these three acts if we didn't enjoy them so much?**

**I only own Donna Fairview in this story, which is made solely for non-profit entertainment. **

* * *

The second Sonic saw a creek leading to the infamous river beyond Star Light Zone, he knew Dr. Robotnik, for all his ridiculous antics, really would kill them if he and Donna didn't do something.

Shuffling his feet against the dirt path leading to the No Zone, he honestly was keeping his mind away from the water-it was a distraction he couldn't allow. But as the sky grew redder and the air grimier he coughed ozone out of his lungs, turning away from Donna, and straight into a twisted ribbon of refuse and mud clumping down a thin trickle of water. The stench of mud and filth made his eyes water, and pressing his hands into his nose, backed into Donna, who was staring at the sky with morbid curiosity. "What the heck _is_ this place?"

She shuddered once she saw the stream, a broken doll bobbing in and out of the brown mess. "I-I don't know..." They continued onwards, sounds and smells emanating from the far distance where a hazy red glaze took over the horizon. They ascended upwards, and the stench grew so powerful that Donna had to help Sonic up the incline towards hell; he was ready to faint into the sticky mud and never rise again. By the grace of god their noses finally dulled themselves and Sonic's brain could function again, taking in their new surroundings. Robotnik's factory was astounding-only science fiction could compare. Buildings grew into the murky orange/brown/red sky, and towers chugged out putrid gasses into the ravaged air. Beneath their feet was a light blue metal platform that took them higher and higher into the factory. When Donna turned away from darkly glittering windows, a shudder going down her spine, she saw a plate stamped over an archway. "Corridor A Sector 5. Scrap Brain Zone..."

"Hehe. No wonder; this place is just a pile of scraps." Sonic laughed weakly, kicking a shoe against the ground, and his friend could see the terror shining in his emerald eyes. "Well...let's go crack up the Eggman and save everyone..."

"Yeah..." Pushing the strange, overflowing terror that this Zone brought the two started forwards, collecting a few rings as the pathway jutted up and downwards at subtle angles. Strings of ring triplets flashed prettily before them, but just as Donna was about to absorb them the pathway opened up to primordial darkness. She screamed even though Sonic pulled her back by the fabric of her dress, and she had a sudden urge to hug her father once more. "This guy is crazy!"

"Tell me about it." Sonic took the lead from there on and was wise to another trap that beckoned them to their doom. Fire burst forth from the ground as a catakiller leered from atop a higher platform. Sonic quickly destroyed the little bugger before pushing Donna away from another jet of flames. "There's a button here; can it be trusted, O Button Pusher of Awesomeness?"

"Haha, very funny." Flicking a sensitive ear and smiling at the squeal of pain it brought, Donna stomped on the button. Suddenly from the rotating metal blocking their path a hole appeared, big enough for Sonic to curl into and pass through to what appeared to be the other side. "Is it safe over there?"9

"Yeah, you can come over too!" Five very uncomfortable seconds later the blonde rejoined her friend, and they took a moment to stare up at a series of spinning platforms. "Well those sure look friendly." Without further adieu Sonic and Donna jumped higher and higher into the murky heavens, the hedgehog detouring for a second to acquire a shield, before helping his companion free a couple of harmless woodland creatures. And as they trapezed through Houdini platforms and all the badniks that made their lives a living hell, Sonic felt that this was all routine. To be expected. Relaxing, even.

It wasn't until Donna tripped on the edge of a platform and fell way down below that he remembered that Dr. Robotnik was a legitimate threat to their lives. "DONNA!"

"It's ok, I'm down here!" Donna had miraculously landed on a very tiny platform serving as some twisted sort of an escalator, but quickly got the picture as her platform began to spin and she had to jump to another for safety. "They lead up further this way, so c'mon!"

Sonic was much faster than his friend, especially without heels, and in moments he caught up to her, sparing a glance downwards. Darkness was all he could see, with gusts of foul air spiraling upwards like the therapeutic fumes of his Aunt Aleena's humidifier. They eventually got off on another steel platform, fire erupting like back in Marble Zone every few feet. Higher up on the slope there was a wide gap between their current level, bridged by spinning little platforms that made Donna very uneasy and Sonic wonder if she was gaining a new phobia. Passing the bridge with relative ease (Donna slid in her shoe and fell through a hole, but Sonic caught her in time), they picked up some soothing rings and made it to a check point. However, Sonic forgot about the check point's mystic powers and ran straight into it, and was blasted far into the air to land on a rooftop. "Oww..."

"Sonic!" Donna squished down her fears and hopped up more disappearing platforms with a speed she didn't know she had, before landing at the semi-conscious hedgehog's side. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, a little dizzy but hey, that's life..." He knocked on his head to force his eyes to stop spinning in their sockets, then looked at an opening in the wall before him in unease. "It's dark in there."

"Yep, it sure is." They pondered the darkness for a bit, and would have stayed there all night-it was night, right?-but the subconscious feeling of terror in their minds propelled them down a very slick slide and into a grated girder coming out of the wall. Sonic slid between the wall and the girder, and Donna screamed as the piston shoved him into a small space where he would surely be crushed. "Oh no oh no oh no SONIC!"

"Geez Donna, I'm ok!" Sonic waved at her from below and she giggled to cover up the embarrassed flush on her cheeks before she joined him. "I didn't know that bombshells were so dependent on men to give them compliments..."

"Sonic..."

"Is that why you're so concerned over my well-being? Such a heartless shrew..."

"_Sonic_..."

"I guess I'm rather replaceable, aren-"

Donna kicked the hedgehog down a level and out of the building, his yells muffled by the crackling buzz of electricity. Curious, she climbed down to where he flew away and saw him sprawled on the ground, twitching slightly. "Are you going to be a good boy now?"

"I hate you."

* * *

They passed the rest of the Act with flying colors and a few grumbles from Sonic about temperamental females, but the doorway leading into the large factory and the rest of the zone made them falter. "There's no going back after this, right?"

"Donna, there was no going back ever since Dr. Robuttnik showed his egghead on our island." With those words of wisdom they strode forward into a world of dark green machinery and pale steel walkways, rings making an eerie glow on the Zone's innards. Sonic found himself spinning uncontrollably on a rotating cog, unable to get off. Donna jumped onto little striped platforms and tried to pull him off of the death trap, but her jarring hands made him launch into a higher level onto a button which made a very nifty girder come forward to help Donna on her way. "That was helpful."

"My head hurts." Sonic wasn't having too good of a time in the Zone from the start, and dizzy from his trip on the cog, walked straight into a catakiller; if that wasn't bad enough, he burst into flames from a well-timed pipe. Luckily his rings kept him from turning into a gigantic chili dog minus the tastiness, but he was about ready to curl up on the ground and die. "Are we there yet?"

"Surely it can't be too far now..." Donna pulled him to his feet and they trudged along, shooting down a sad attempt at an elevator to a lower level. Strings of rotating platforms taunted them, and after Donna fell through about six or seven times they finally made it out alive. Donna used two emeralds as palm stones to get her thudding heart in check, but with a menacing hiss a wall snapped shut behind them; there was no going back. "I suppose that we're getting cl-"

"HOLY MONKEY CHEESE!" Sonic screamed and pointed at a gigantic saw blade cutting through the air inches above them. Even as Donna dragged him under the saw blade, which retracted enough into the ceiling to let them pass, he was still spazzing out over the fact that there were saw blades in this factory. "We're soooo dead, did'ja know that, Donna? Deadder than eating all of Dad's cantaloupe, yep we're _that_ dead."

Any other day of the week Donna would have laughed, but the crushing forces in the elevator to the bowels of Scrap Brain Zone were killing her funny bone. Especially when they had to cross conveyor belts with more saw blades coming out of the ceiling; great fun. "I swear this'll be the doom for all of us if we don't-what? STOP THAT!" Sonic was trying to outrun the saw blade but was purposely being slow about it. 'C'mon blue boy! There's no time for fun and games!"

Sonic stuck out his tongue at her hunched back and stopped mocking the saw blades-sure, they would kill them all, but he could outrun them!-before meeting Donna at a tricky part in their path. The floor before them would open up every few seconds or so to an electric trap, while fire would flare out from the ceiling out of rhythm with the falling floor. Donna tried her hand at getting past but was pushed back by the flames into the trap, where she had the very rings shocked out of her before she could climb back out. "Damn, this is a toughie."

"You're telling me...oh well!" Sonic jumped as soon as the flames ended and scampered over the false flooring, doing them same for the identical trap ahead of it. Waiting by another elevator, he tapped his foot with nervous energy as Donna managed to come through more or less unharmed, but without any of their rings. "You ready to go?"

"Hold up a second.." She tore apart a large knot that had formed in her hair, muttering about lying action movie heroines and their locks of love, before giving him a thumbs up. With that they shot up the elevator, waited for Donna to be sick off an edge, and sprinted across spinning platforms once more, before waiting for the wall in front of them to shoot flames or open, just do something. Donna noticed that her shoe had a small dent in the side and bent down against the wall to check it out.

That action saved her life.

At that moment a saw blade ripped through the ground where Donna was just standing, that space now inhabited by Sonic. Just as the wall opened he shot through into a hard steel step as Donna blankly watched red droplets flatten into puddles on the ground.

He did that that the saw blades were to be the end of them.

She couldn't hear herself scream as she up to his side. Crouching down into the growing pool of blood, she assessed the damage with numb, shaking hands: the saw blade had ripped through his stomach to the bone of his ribs. He tried to curl in on himself, as all hedgehogs did once in pain, and she found herself singing tonelessly into the sudden burst of loudness that all the machines gave off. "Shh, it's ok, it's all ok..." They were down to their very last first-aid kit, and she tightly wound gauze and other bandage around his stomach, wary of the spines he needed to destroy enemies with. "There there, it's all ok now..."

Sonic merely sucked in air for a while, desperate not to scream, and they watched with morbid fascination as a clock somewhere above clanked out the time. Midnight had fallen on South Island. "It's...we gotta...go..." He stumbled to his feet as Donna tried to help him. "No Donna...we gotta stop...this guy. Imagine what...he's done to everyone...else." She blinked, letting tears fall down ashen cheeks, before nodding and helping him up the platform. Sonic paused, then smiled. "No tears for me, Donna; heartless shrews don't cry over little boys."

She opened her mouth, unable to think. "...you are going to wake up without legs one day, blue boy, just you wait..."

He laughed despite the pain in his stomach, and gripping onto a Chaos Emerald for life, began to pick apart the dreadful puzzle of conveyors and saw blades keeping them from advancing. His best friend screamed without hesitation every time she came close to the edge or near a saw blade, but even the spinning, serrated wheels of death didn't faze him. Were it not for Donna he would have died; now there wasn't anything else in this Act or Zone or entire island that could scare him anymore than that moment in time. He grabbed Donna's waist and ran quickly through the maze and under an electricity field, avoiding the crushing embrace of a piston. They finally found some rings under bomb badniks, and Sonic flipped them the finger as they blew themselves apart. Served them right. "Press the button, will you?"

"S-Sure." Donna stuttered at the sight below them-she was NOT going into the abyss unless Dr. Robotnik broke her legs and threw her down there. At the press of the button they were able to ascend higher, ducking under a jet of flames, and Donna stopped, wondering how to get out of the Act alive. Sonic had run off, much slower thanks to his new injury, but before long he was racing back towards her in a flurry of stars. "What in the-"

"Let's get out of here!" No longer afraid of saw blades or badniks or fire or much of anything, Sonic tore through the factory with a death grip on Donna's wrist, keeping her as close as possible. They descended lower and lower, but Sonic ran faster to make up for his friend's reluctance, and after pulling her hair out a mace they passed the Act in a flash of light. They stopped and sank to their knees, thankful that soon enough it would be over. But that thought made their stomachs turn into lead. "Donna...you know what comes next..."

She took his hand and helped him to his feet, then they walked forwards with a calm they didn't possess. and with a gasp of horror from Donna they saw through a hazy wall of static a certain madman in front of a button. Dr. Robotnik laughed and laughed and laughed, and each cackle made the children's knees shake. "Well done, you little brats, but I'm afraid the fun ends HERE!" He jumped on the button and the floor beneath Sonic and Donna exploded, and they screamed as they fell into the darkness.

* * *

Donna came to her senses first. She was lying on her side, blonde hair all eschew and her right leg throbbing madly, and she shakily propped herself up. "Wake up Sonic..."

A groan was her answer. "Go away, I'm sleeping."

Banishing the stars from her eyes, she gazed around and their surroundings, and gulped. "Umm, I think you might want to take a look at this..."

Sonic opened his eyes, saw the white-washed walls, and burst into tears. "Noooo..." He was still crying weakly as he clawed at the hated wall to bring him to his feet and as he helped Donna limp to another button. They rode the moving stretch of stone down towards a pathway glistening with crystals, but in desperation Sonic ran off the edge of the platform and down a sloped path. Donna quickly followed before she could be crushed, only to find Sonic with his face in his hands, sobbing over another pool of water. "Donna...I can't go in there!"

Donna bit her lip as he brought his hands to his eyes, then she hugged him long and tight. "Sonic, this has got to be the end of it-there's only so much room that South Island has for Dr. Robotnik to take over." She removed his hands and stared into his eyes. "Only this much more and then we can beat him and be done with it. Only this much more...ok?"

He sniffled and nodded, before watching her cross the shallow pool of water to depress another button, opening the stones beneath them. The water was queer in its color and scent to Sonic, and to Donna's muted senses as well. "Is...that water's purple?"

"I hope it tastes like grape juice." Sonic gulped in a breath of cold, stale air before jumping into the water below, but immediately froze-there was something sinister about this water. Donna understood as she shuddered; the water was freezing cold, enough to painfully suck the energy out of her. She got over it, though, and grabbed an air bubble below, but looked up to see Sonic frozen between two moving spears. Judging it as another hydrophobia attack, she pulled him down to more air before bringing his attention to a spinning mace blocking their path. Ne dully nodded before jumping over jutting rocks disrupting the icy waters and landed on the other side of a very dark abyss. She swam with difficulty in the water, before climbing skywards, narrowly dodging a fire ball. They broke the surface and tangled themselves in pale lavender ivy, before Sonic stuttered out between clattering teeth, "T-That w-water...t-that's n-not n-n-natural!"

Donna stomped her feet to stop the clattering of her teeth, before asking in confusion, "What do you mean unnatural? Maybe the color's off, but dye can do-"

"It's n-not just the c-c-color, Donna!" His voice was shrill with terror, and he leaned against a wall with sudden fatigue. "I can smell the d-difference...w-whatever the Eggman's d-doing, it's p-poisoning the water...we n-need to get out of here!"

She saw the mounting hysteria and couldn't agree more. "Ok, let's just find our way back into the factory and kick some butt, alright?" His nod was good enough of an answer, so she followed him out, favoring her left leg over her bruised and battered one. Badniks blasted out of the ground but Donna's shoes were good for something other than irritating her toes, and she threw them into the water before diving downwards. A spinning mace knocked the air out of her but Sonic dragged her by the hem of her dress back to the safety of air, and they climbed long and hard up to a very shiny spring set conspicuously underneath a hole in the ceiling. A rush of adrenaline flooded out their aches and pains. "This is it, Sonic."

"I know." He absently took her hand. "You ready?"

"For Mom and Dad and your parents and everyone else on South Island? Why not?"

They broke the hold on their hands only to let Sonic then Donna jump on the spring and into their destinies.

* * *

**And it's to the Final Boss!**

**I took the shortcut on the third act of the level only because that was how I first beat the game (on accident, too; I pity those who had to do it the right way). So I guess it'll be another year or so until the next update...XD **


End file.
